Fulham will almost certainly depend on an untried 18-year-old keeper as back-up when they face MK Dons on Saturday.

The Whites had planned to return Jesse Joronen from his loan spell at Stevenage.

But Boro boss Teddy Sheringham confirmed Fulham’s shot-stopper could miss up to six weeks after he hurt his thigh in the FA Cup win over Gillingham last week.

"It could be four, five or six weeks which takes him up to the end of his loan, which is a shame for us. I really like Jesse, I think he's a fantastic young goalkeeper," the ex-Spurs legend added.

It means Marek Rodak will retain his place on the bench behind Joe Lewis who stepped into the breach left by a hamstring injury to Andy Lonergan, expected to sit out the next month.

Rodak was an unused sub in the 5-2 defeat against Birmingham that proved the final nail in the coffin of Kit Symons.

The manager was sacked the following morning, and the club are in a race against against time to replace him ahead of the visit to Bucks.

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