AFC Wimbledon defender Darius Charles will undergo an operation following a knee injury that he sustained in training last week, manager Neal Ardley has confirmed.

Charles, 29, is expected to miss at least the opening day of the season when AFC Wimbledon travel to face Scunthorpe United on August 5 and not return until September.

Ardley said: “In the off season we knew that he needed to come back and everything was fine, but he must have taken a wrong step in the first warm-up and his knee flared up.

“We decided to go all in and have an exploratory operation. The think that they know what the problem is, but may not know the extent until the carry out the operation.

Ardley hopes that his injury is not too serious and is able to recover soon.

Beginning his professional career at Brentford Charles spent several loan spells at various clubs, including Sutton United, before leaving in 2009 for Ebbsfleet United.

He would later join Stevenage Borough, Burton Albion and then the Dons on loan before signing permanently in May 2016.