Oxford United manager Karl Robinson is to asses midfielder Cameron Brannagan ahead of tomorrow nights League One match against Ipswich Town.
The midfielder, who was replaced at half time as the U’s lost at home against Rotherham United on Saturday, put in a below-par display but was clearly struggling with the effects of a knee injury.
The 23-year-old picked up the injury during a win against Rochdale back in October, and although he had returned before New Year, he clearly struggled against the Millers.
Robinson told the Oxford Mail: “He said he was fine, but I think we all saw he wasn’t his usual self.
“He’s got a nick in his knee ligament and the last bit to heal is the pain. There’s no issue with it, it’s just dealing with the pain threshold.
“We’ve got to assess that and see where we’re at for Tuesday.”
Brannagan wasn’t the only one to have a disappointing first half in which Rotherham raced to a 3-0 lead.
Alex Rodriguez Gorrin, who was booked inside ten minutes, struggled to focus after picking up an early yellow card.
The U’s failed to control the midfield, allowing the Millers to dominate that first half.
Robinson added: “Alex got so emotionally attached to the game and wanted to fight everybody and forgot we were playing football.
“We’re not a wrestling team, we’re a footballing team.
“He cares so much the boy, so he runs around with tremendous heart and desire.
“These are just small things we’re going to work on and get better. We’ll lose more games than this.”
New singings Nathan Holland and Marcus Browne replaced the pair at the break, with the latter scoring a second-half consolation for the U’s.
And Robinson felt his sides second-half display was much more familiar to the way his side have played this season.
Robinson said: “I thought the two of them were sensational. We weren’t good but did enough I felt in the second half.
“We were more dominant in the second half than they were in the first half, but we didn’t take our chances.”
