Oxford United manager Karl Robinson has revealed that he’s hopeful Ben Woodburn will return to the field as early as next week, but has lost another player to injury.
The 20-year-old, who arrived on a season-long loan from Liverpool in the summer, has been out with a broken foot since early October, before breaking a bone in his other foot just weeks before he was due to return.
The attacking midfielder had only made 13 appearances for the U’s, but provided five assists and netted one goal during that spell.
Speaking ahead of a return, Robinson told the Oxford Mail: “Woody is another week away so I’m hoping to have him back for the Southend game.
“He started running last Thursday, so he’ll have done about 14 days of pre-season effectively. Then he needs games.”
And although the return would be a major boost, the U’s boss is hopeful fans won’t expect too much and provide added pressure on the youngster.
He added: “Don’t think he’ll be the Ben Woodburn we saw against Lincoln, it won’t be the case (to begin with).
“Unfortunately we’re not blessed with a number of bodies in certain positions any more, so it’s more of a necessity that we get him back.”
Robinson also revealed that another player will miss tonight’s game against AFC Wimbledon after picking up an injury during the U’s defeat against Sunderland.
However, the manager declined to comment who the player in question was, simply saying “we do have one injury concern.”
