Yanic Wildschut eyeing return as Oxford take on Barnsley

Oxford winger Yanic Wildschut will make his first appearance of the season in the squad for the visit of Barnsley.

The 31-year-old sustained a serious hamstring injury in a July friendly and has been out since but travelled with the team for last weekend’s draw at Accrington although was not selected.

Winger Josh Murphy made his return from injury in the final 15 minutes of that game and is likely to continue his comeback from the bench.

Forward Kyle Joseph, Sam Baldock and Oisin Smyth all remain sidelined.

Barnsley defender Tom Edwards is a doubt after sustaining a knee problem in last week’s win over Peterborough.

Josh Benson, who was forced off with a hamstring injury 15 minutes after replacing Edwards, has been ruled out for between two and four weeks.

Midfielder Matty Wolfe has trained this week having been out since mid-September with an ankle injury but is lacking in match fitness and is not in consideration but defender Jordan Williams could be available again after a hamstring issue.

Defender Jordan Helliwell – sidelined since August – has had a setback with his recovery from a thigh injury and will be out until the new year.