Oxford United vs AFC Wimbledon - Callum O'Dowda to miss out for Oxford

Posted Friday, October 09, 2015 by PA

Oxford will be without Callum O'Dowda when they resume League Two action at home to AFC Wimbledon.

The winger is away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad while the only other player definitely unavailable to U's manager Michael Appleton is defender Sam Long, who still faces around a month on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

Striker Danny Hylton returns from suspension and midfielder Danny Rose is almost fit again after a hip problem.

"Danny might train today (Thursday) and we will assess him over the next 24 hours," said Appleton. "He is nowhere near as bad as he was in the early part of the week so he is recovering well, but at the moment he's 50/50."

Adebayo Akinfenwa could be back in the Wimbledon starting line-up.

The burly striker was only fit enough for a place on the bench last weekend after suffering a hamstring injury in the previous match against Northampton.

Karleigh Osborne is another pushing for a recall but Dons boss Neal Ardley could stick with the defence that kept a clean sheet against Barnet.

Tom Elliott's ongoing knee problem means the forward will again miss out.