INJURY UPDATE: Good news on the return date of Peterborough United Player-of-the-Season candidate
Peterborough United boss Luke Williams keeps an ‘injury table’ in his office.
The higher a player is listed the sooner he is back and the good news for Posh is a rapid climb up that table from experienced defender Tom Lees.
Lees has been a huge hit with Posh fans since joining the club in the summer. He won a recent PT poll regarding likely player-of-the-season winners ahead of goalkeeper Alex Bass, midfielder Archie Collins and winger Kyrell Lisbie.
Posh haven't won any of the 10 League One games missed by Lees this season so a calf injury sustained in the pre-match warm-up at Bradford City last month was a big blow.
Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony reckoned the injury would keep most players out for six weeks, but he predicted Lees would be back a week earlier that that.
Lees picked up that injury on February 14. If he’s back in five weeks that would mean availability for the trip to AFC Wimbledon on March 21.
Williams said: “The nearer the top of my table means the closer you are to being clear of injury and Tom has been moving up it every week. He is ahead of scheduled and no-one is surprised at that. Tom is a true professional footballer 24 hours a day and seven days a week.”
Full-backs Harley Mills and Jacob Mendy have been cleared for action, although both could start on the substitutes’ bench in Saturday’s League One fixture at Leyton Orient. Williams is conscious of managing the minutes of returning players and Mills and Mendy have not played at all in 2026.
Midfielder Ben Woods is now expected to return to full training next week which might bring the Wimbledon trip into play for him. Striker Harry Leonard should start running again next week after his hernia operation. Professional footballers are reckoned to take 4-6 weeks out after such an operation and Leonard’s relative youth and general fitness will be an asset. Four weeks out would mean Leonard returning for the Good Friday trip to Luton Town.
Williams also reports midfielder Donay O’Brien-Brady will be back ‘soon-ish’ from an ankle injury and that Kiwi international Matt Garbett is desperate to play for Posh again before his expected participation in the summer World Cup. Garbett has a heel injury and his return date will be partly down to how well he responds to injections designed to release pressure on the affected area.
Central defender Sam Hughes suffered a recent setback after making good progress from his achilles injury.