JAKE Reeves has admitted his City career “never got started”.

The Wimbledon midfielder faces his old club again this weekend – three years after finishing an injury-ravaged spell at Valley Parade.

Reeves played just 46 games in three seasons with the Bantams after signing for Stuart McCall for £150,000 in the summer of 2017.

He had played every minute of the previous campaign for Wimbledon. But having started impressively in West Yorkshire, a recurring groin problem meant he could never get going.

“The start was incredible,” he said. “I hit the ground running and I was getting man of the matches and we were doing really well.

“I got injured after a couple of months. I just got to a point where I couldn’t play anymore.

“For two years I didn’t train with the team. I was either in the gym or doing my own stuff – I just couldn’t get fit.

“My Bradford career never really got started.

“It was unfortunate, but it is what it is. I can’t look back and say what if?

“It’s just how it goes. It was a spell that was part of my journey and story.”

After spells at Notts County and Stevenage, Reeves returned to Wimbledon in the summer.

He previously won promotion with them in 2016 and was a regular in the side that stabilised in the third tier before his City move.

“A club the size of Bradford is a sleeping giant,” he told the South London Press. “They had just missed out on promotion in the final to Millwall.

“It was a difficult one to turn down.

“I felt like I had done well at Wimbledon and left them in a good place. They were happy with the sum of money they got for me, so it kind of worked out both ways.

“I had said before that if the opportunity to come back to Wimbledon fitted and it was right at the time – being out of contract, which makes the deal a lot easier – then I would jump at it.

“The opportunity to come back to help the club get back to where I originally left it in the first place is a nice challenge.”

Wimbledon might be flying high currently but they have found it incredibly difficult to win at home.

The 4-1 victory over Tranmere a fortnight ago was their first in the league in five attempts at Plough Lane this season – and only their third in the calendar year.

Wimbledon had previously beaten only Stockport in January and Walsall at the end of March in their own backyard.

They also have a problem with penalties. James Tilley’s miss at Mansfield last week was their fourth fluffed spot-kick out of five.

Highly-rated striker Ali Al-Hamadi is away on international duty with Iraq.