Mansfield Town's Lucas Akins Returns to Play After Prison Release

Mansfield Town's Lucas Akins Returns to Play After Prison Release

Mansfield Town's Lucas Akins Returns to Play After Prison Release

Striker Lucas Akins has made his debut for Mansfield Town following his release from prison.

The 36-year-old played for 64 minutes in the EFL Trophy match against Newcastle United's Under-21 team at Field Mill on Wednesday evening.

Akins was sentenced to 14 months in prison in April after pleading guilty to causing the death of a cyclist through careless driving. Adrian Daniel, 33, succumbed to his injuries ten days after being struck by Akins' Mercedes G350 near Huddersfield in March 2022.

After serving six months, Akins returned to training with the League One club this month.

In the lead-up to the match, manager Nigel Clough stated that Akins would always be aware of the gravity of his actions and would be given ample time to resume his career.

Following the game, Clough spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham about the decision to play Akins, noting that the striker felt "ready" after a few training sessions. "I talked to Lucas, and we felt the sooner we get him on the pitch the better. It’s out of the way now; he’s had over 60 minutes, and he’ll benefit from it moving forward," Clough said.

Clough acknowledged that Akins appeared a bit rusty, as expected, but assessed his fitness as relatively good. He indicated that Akins would not participate in the upcoming weekend match, but would gradually build up his fitness over the next few weeks, including a reserve game against Chesterfield next Tuesday at the training ground.

In the match, Mansfield lost 5-3 in a penalty shootout after the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The Stags initially fell behind but took the lead through goals from Max Dickov and Finn Flanagan. However, they were denied victory when Newcastle equalized in the second minute of added time with an own goal from Ollie Taylor.

Mansfield Town will return to League One action on Saturday with an away match against Luton Town.

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