AFC Wimbledon: Aron Sasu situation will not ease Myles Hippolyte fears - View | OneFootball

Sasu's injury may give Hippolyte more of a chance to feature, but he is still limited to where he may be played

When Myles Hippolyte joined AFC Wimbledon, there was much clamour about his signing, with the winger having looked promising at previous club, Stockport County.

However, throughout pre-season, with Johnnie Jackson subverting expectations and playing a different formation and system, Hippolyte played in differing roles from what he was perhaps used to previously.

In the friendlies that the Dons competed in over the past month or so, the Grenadian international has played at left wing-back and central midfield, and in both positions, most fans felt he flattered to deceive.

So with the recent injury to hot prospect Aron Sasu giving Hippolyte a clear run at first-team action if and when James Furlong, or any of the central midfielders are injured or dropped, why is there now the suggestion that he will still struggle to feature, despite offering good quality of cover across two positions?

How Myles Hippolyte dropped from contention

While it is fairly ridiculous to suggest that Hippolyte is already fearing for his AFC Wimbledon career despite it having not even got out of first gear just yet, it is not exactly wrong to suggest it.

The former Stockport man was given plenty of game-time throughout pre-season, but never truly looked at home in any position that Johnnie Jackson placed him in.

As a left wing-back, he would either over-commit on the overlap, or not bother making a useful run, sometimes drifting too far inside, and in central midfield, he was outshone by almost all those given an opportunity to play in the same position.

This is not to suggest that he is a bad player though, more that others really took their chance to shine, and no one did that better than Hippolyte's direct rival on the left-hand side, Aron Sasu.

The Norwegian youth international had a great pre-season, looking extremely bright in his appearances and showing a complete change up from the 23/24 season, displaying a much more calm-headed approach to his entire game and not letting his rawness creep in too much.

However, in the Dons' final pre-season fixture, he was nowhere to be seen, and it was not until after the opening day win against Colchester United that Jackson confirmed that the youngster would be out for a while.

Speaking to South London Press, the former Charlton boss said: "It’s his hamstring, it’s going to be a while. It happened in the Maidenhead game. He came on and felt something in his hammy that night.

"He had a scan – it’s not great. It’s probably a number of weeks. He was doing really well in that [left wing-back] position. It looked like we might go with him from the start.

"He needs to go away, do his rehab and get fit. He’s a big part of our plans and what we want to do."

Can Myles Hippolyte have a long-term future at AFC Wimbledon?

From the words of Johnnie Jackson to SLP, it does seem that the club want Aron Sasu in the left wing-back position as soon as they possibly can, which begs the question posed above, and to answer it simply, he does not, which is why he should be fearing for his spot in the squad already, despite only just joining.

He has clearly not impressed Jackson nearly enough across all of his appearances so far, especially at left wing-back, and with a packed-out midfield already pushing young prospect Morgan Williams to the bench and up-and-coming youngster Kai Jennings out on loan to Whitehawk once again, where does Hippolyte fit in at the club?

It is unlikely that Jackson will ever switch away from his favoured 3-5-2 formation, meaning Hippolyte is forced to compete for the central spots, and unless he produces brilliant performances in that position soon, he will be out of contention there too.

He did begin to make good on being given an opportunity in midfield by grabbing a brilliant assist against Bromley in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, playing a superb long ball to Josh Kelly, who bought it down beautifully before slotting home, but it will require plenty more matches like that before Jackson begins to choose him on a regular basis.

Ultimately, he will be sticking around at Wimbledon this season, likely popping up with the occasional moment in yellow and blue that Wimbledon fans will hope can push them on towards promotion, but beyond that, it does seem he will not get a consistent starring role in a Dons shirt.