JOSH Ruffels is aiming to make the most of Ryan Ledson’s international call-up by pushing his claims for more regular football at Oxford United.

Ledson has established himself as skipper John Lundstram’s partner in central midfield this season, but he is now away with the England Under 20s.

He missed Tuesday’s defeat to Bolton Wanderers and will not play in the next two games, including tomorrow’s visit to Northampton Town, ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley.

Before this week, Ruffels had not started back-to-back games since October and he intends to do all he can in Ledson’s absence to impress boss Michael Appleton.

He said: “It’s a slight opportunity now to try to stake a claim in the team.

“The midfielders have been doing really well, so I’ve had to bide my time.”

He added: “I feel like I come in, play a game then come out for another ten, so it can be quite difficult to just come in and perform straight away.

“It’s a lot easier to play consecutive games, so fingers crossed, I can get a couple of games in a row under my belt.”

The one benefit of his lack of playing time so far is compared to many in the squad, Ruffels is fresh.

He said: “It’s been a long season, but I’ll take it if I can play a good amount of games now and try to help the team.

“Mentally and physically, I feel really fresh and ready to go.

“There’s a few games where I can try to push on and give the gaffer something to think about for Wembley.”