WILL Goodwin was left out of Oxford United’s matchday squad last night in order to protect him after recovering from a quad injury.

The 21-year-old striker made his U’s debut at Blackpool on Saturday, playing the final half an hour, and rather than put him at risk by playing three games in a week, the decision was made to leave him out last night.

Goodwin trained as normal prior to the win against Wigan Athletic, with United head coach Des Buckingham confirming the centre forward would be available for the weekend trip to Wycombe Wanderers.

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He said: “Will’s okay. He’s had a very significant injury in his quad, so there was always a plan on returning with him.

“With it being Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, the medical team felt it was better to get him right. We could’ve played him, but then you probably lose him for Saturday because it’s too quick, too soon, and you put him at further risk.

“We’ve seen that this year when we’ve played players, and we’ve rushed them Saturday-Tuesday back too early.

“We don’t want to do that with Will. We’ve got 14 games still to come, and he’ll be alright for Saturday.”

Goodwin joined the U’s last month, signing from Cheltenham Town, where he scored six goals in 16 Sky Bet League One games this season.