SAMIR Carruthers could be in line for a shock return to the Oxford United squad tomorrow.

Jamie Mackie is also in contention to travel for the Sky Bet League One game at AFC Wimbledon after making a rapid recovery.

Carruthers has been sidelined by a knee problem picked up 20 minutes into the opening game of the season.

But after completing his final rehabilitation tests yesterday, the 25-year-old is due to train with the squad for the first time today.

And if the Sheffield United loanee comes through unscathed, boss Karl Robinson will be checking with his medical team if Carruthers can be included for the visit to AFC Wimbledon in Sky Bet League One.

After almost two months out, he would only be able to make a cameo appearance, but the U’s head coach would have no hesitation if the physios were happy.

Robinson said: “I’ll be asking the question, why can’t he go in the squad?

“I’m telling you now, he’s one of our best players.

“If he gets through these sessions he’s effectively gone through the contact element of what a game would allow.

“There’s a high probability he won’t be in the squad, it just depends completely on how he feels and where the medical team are at.

“There’s a lot of ifs and buts, but I know when Ricky Holmes is struggling after 85 minutes and I’ve got Samir Carruthers sat behind me I know I’m replacing like-for-like.

“I’ve not had this. I don’t think I’ve made many subs that have made us better for that small period of time, because we haven’t had that flexibility.”

It comes a week after Robinson described the injury situation facing his side as a crisis – a comment in part prompted by the news Mackie was expected to be missing for six weeks or more with a hip issue.

But the forward has made huge strides in the last few days and was out doing a fitness session yesterday.

Robinson said: “The results came back very positively and the rehabilitation has been unbelievable.

“We expected him to have pain for three weeks, but it reduced in a minimal amount of time.

“What we thought hadn’t worked with the injection possibly could be working now, it’s just taken longer.

“I certainly can’t see why he couldn’t be on the bench for Saturday.”

Simon Eastwood will not be far behind.

The goalkeeper, who dislocated a finger in the warm-up for the second game of the season, has started doing contact work in training involving catching balls.