Oxford United will wait on the fitness of two key men as they prepare to take on Wigan Athletic at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
James Henry and Sam Long both limped off in the win at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night but boss Karl Robinson is hoping their injuries aren’t as serious as they first appeared.
“James Henry wasn't in a great way after the game but it’s settling down today. Sam Long’s hamstring is also settling down and hopefully it’s nowhere near as bad as we thought on Tuesday but we’ll scan him because that’s the right thing to do. Hopefully the results confirm what we think.
“You are always going to get injuries but even if those two don’t make it for Saturday you can bring in Rob Hall and Jamie Hanson to cover those positions. Jamie is good in the air at right back or Anthony Forde maybe gives us a more attacking option so we feel we are in a half decent place there.
“And people will have seen Mark Sykes coming into the team off the bench and having a real impact so we know we are getting the best version of him that we possibly can. Having him back and firing again could be massive for us because some days he can go past people like they aren’t even there.
“Sam Winnall being fit as well, coming on at Rovers on Tuesday, gave us a great platform and I also think having him available is bringing out the best in Matty Taylor who is running further than I’ve ever seen before. We have two really top level strikers there at this level and are really lucky to have them.
“So we are quite happy and quite comfortable but now we have five big games coming up, five very different challenges.
“Wigan on Saturday are a good team with a good Manager and are just starting to find a rhythm. Then we have Tranmere in the semi-final of a cup competition, Ipswich away, Portsmouth at home then a trip to MK. All five of those matches will test us to the max and we have to make sure we are at it in all of them."
See the full interview, including Karl’s thoughts on Cameron Brannagan’s return in iFollow where Match Passes are available for what should be another fantastic afternoon of football.