Hall Sidelined For The U's

Oxford United have been dealt a further injury blow with the news that Rob Hall will be out of action until the new year with a knee injury.

The winger is set to undergo surgery to repair cartilage damage in his knee and the early signs are that he will be out of action for three or four months.

“It’s bad news for us” Manager Pep Clotet confirmed this morning. “He has been troubled by it for a little while and after Saturday’s game it was swollen so we booked him in for a scan and that showed damage to the cartilage so he will have an operation to correct that.

“We have been hit hard by injuries this season but now is the time to regroup and stick together. We have good players here who have been waiting for their chance and now they need to show what they can do.”

As a result of Rob’s injury young winger Malachi Napa has been recalled from his loan at Hampton and Richmond Borough and could be included in the squad as United head for Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

One piece of good news for United was a return to training for Charlie Raglan, as Pep told us:

“Charlie has been out there training with the team this week and is doing very well. He is working very hard but we won’t rush him back and risk all that hard work; he’s not ready yet although I’d expect him to be available again soon.”

See Pep’s pre Plymouth interview in iFollow now where he also updates us on Gino van Kessel and Agon Mehmeti’s progress.