Dover Athletic boss Jake Leberl on role sidelined keeper Mitch Walker still has to play this season and Luke Baptiste’s work ethic as he converts two penalties in as many matches

Popular Dover goalkeeper Mitch Walker still has a key role to play this season - despite being sidelined.

Walker hasn’t featured for the promotion-chasing Isthmian Premier Whites since late November due to a recurring knee injury.

It appears the 33-year-old will be out for most of - if not all - of the campaign, with Jordan Gillmore having since come in.

But Walker’s influence is expected to still be felt at Crabble.

“Mitch is a huge loss,” said boss Jake Leberl, who re-signed Walker last summer.

“If he’s not out for the season, he will be out for near-enough that period of time.

“His experience and presence would massively help us. But he will still be with us and part of the coaching staff.

“He’s been unbelievably professional - that’s why we brought him back.

“We knew what we were bringing in and that’s just the way he has always been.

“Fitness-wise, he’s still one of the best and he’s gutted not to play a part on the pitch.

“But he’s still a massive influence at the club.”

Dover moved back top last weekend as they battled to a 2-1 victory at basement boys Bognor Regis.

Trailing to an early goal, forward Ruben Soares-Junior made it 1-1 before attacking midfielder Luke Baptiste held his nerve with a late penalty.

Leberl said: “We’d had them watched a couple of times.

“They have new management and a few new players so we knew that they were better than the league table suggests and that it was a potential banana skin for us. A little bit like when we came in last year, they were not the team that were bottom of the league - and we started really poorly.

“We had no excuses for it but, for some reason, some of the boys just weren’t up to speed. But we did grow into the game and got a good equaliser.

“I did then feel there