THERE were plenty of hearts in mouths at the Oxford United training ground this week, when Mark Harris pulled up with a knock.

The 25-year-old has led the line for United for the vast majority of the season, scoring 19 goals in 54 games across all competitions.

In recent weeks, the U’s have been without a striker on the bench, with Billy Bodin and Marcus Browne the likeliest options to replace Harris.

Will Goodwin has though returned to training following a leg problem, while Gatlin O’Donkor is back at United now his loan spell at Barnet has concluded.

Losing Harris would be a huge blow though, and the U’s counted their blessings when he came away from a Greg Leigh challenge unscathed this week.

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United first team coach Craig Short said: “We always do some high-speed sprinting for the lads because they have to reach this level that’s set by sport scientists.

“You forgive the lads for not hitting that mark. You’ve got to manage yourself well through training.

“I see lads jumping into tackles and I’ll shout ‘steady, calm down, be relaxed’, but they are.

“They’re very respectful and don’t want to hurt anyone. Mark Harris got a little knock off Greg, and he’s fine, but your heart is in your mouth.

“They’re looking good and had a weekend off to prepare. They’ve had a busy schedule, and we’ll just do the normal preparation that’s been successful in the last few weeks.”