ARGYLE midfielder Jason Puncheon has had his loan to MK Dons extended until the end of December.

But Pilgrims' boss Paul Sturrock insisted there had been no discussions with the League One club about the 22-year-old making a permanent transfer in January.

Puncheon signed on loan for MK Dons, where he started his career, last month and has made four appearances for them.

The latest one came in a 3-1 win at Hartlepool United on Saturday, which moved MK Dons up to fourth position in the table.

Puncheon cost Argyle £250,000 when he was signed from League Two club Barnet in the summer.

But he has played only six times for the Pilgrims, with his last appearance coming in a 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City on September 13.

Sturrock believes Puncheon is better off getting regular first-team football with MK Dons rather than playing for Argyle's reserves.

He said: "We are over the top with wingers as well, with (Craig) Noone, (Nicolas) Marin, (Dan) Smith and (Yala) Bolasie.

"They can't all play at the same time, so it's very difficult to get match fitness.

"With Punch, it's on a 24-hour recall and, basically, he's better off playing football games than not playing."

Asked whether there had been any talks with MK Dons over a possible permanent move for Puncheon, Sturrock said: "No, that's not an issue at the minute."

Puncheon is one of three Argyle players currently out on loan.

The other two are striker Jermaine Easter, who will be at Millwall until Boxing Day, and left-sided player Damien McCrory, who is with Port Vale until the end of December.

Sturrock said: "We have had the three of them watched once, and we are having them watched again in the next two weeks, so I'm getting assessments back.

"Punch is supposed to have done quite well, but Jermaine has been unfortunate. He got himself sent off and missed three games and hasn't been able to get back in the team again.

"That's not great for him, but I think the boy McCrory has played every game so far. They are very pleased with him."

Meanwhile, out-of-favour midfielder Simon Walton wants to stay and fight for a first team spot after rejecting a loan move to League One club Crewe Alexandra.

The 21-year-old, who signed from Queens Park Rangers in August, decided on Friday he did not want to make the move to Crewe.

Sturrock said: "I can appreciate his situation. He has just had a kid with his partner and she's going to move down here, so he doesn't want to travel away to Crewe, but I had to give him the option because of the lack of (reserve team) games.

"He wants to fight for his place – that's the commitment he has shown – but there is a learning curve for him."

ARGYLE centre-back Krisztian Timar has been ruled out of Hungary's squad for a friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast tomorrow by a knee ligament injury.

The 28-year-old has not been fit for the Pilgrims' last two Championship matches.

Meanwhile, Argyle manager Paul Sturrock has been pleased with the progress of left-back Gary Sawyer on his return to training following a long-term hamstring injury. Sawyer made his playing comeback for the reserves when they lost 4-1 to Southampton at Home Park a fortnight ago.

Sturrock said: "Gary has missed near enough the whole season, so it's very difficult for him, all of a sudden, to be up and running. But I do feel he's progressing every day I watch him."