KYLE Edwards is back on the Oxford United training pitches and the hope is that he will return to full training with the rest of the squad before the weekend.

The 26-year-old winger has been missing following a knock to the ankle suffered in the 1-1 draw at Portsmouth on October 5.

He ended an almost 10-month hamstring injury nightmare when he came off the bench at Bristol City on September 21, the first of his four appearances this season.

Edwards came on at half-time in United’s 2-2 draw at Luton Town on October 1, and his assist for Ruben Rodrigues pulled the U’s back level having found themselves 2-0 down.

He was looking back to his best at Kenilworth Road, but in United’s following game, Edwards picked up the ankle knock against Pompey, and he has since been out of action.

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Giving an update on Edwards’ fitness situation, plus who’ll be next to return from injury, U’s head coach Des Buckingham said: “We’ve got a flat week with no game. I don’t know whether the weekend will be too soon for him, but we’ll assess him as he progresses.

“Then it’ll be Siriki Dembele with a little bit later on, Louie Sibley. Louie will be a little bit more towards mid-December or Christmas time.”

Edwards signed a short-term deal with United back in September, and it’s understood that expires following the New Year’s Day trip to Millwall.

Buckingham is focused primarily on ensuring Edwards is back fit, while decisions on the winger’s long-term future can be made once he proves himself in the coming weeks.

Buckingham said: “We know the player he is. It’s now about making sure we keep him fit because for him, he hasn’t had a long spell of being back and showing people what he can do over a period of time.

“But what he certainly has done in the snapshots that we’ve been able to see of him, he’s shown the type of player and how good he is.

“He will be very impactful and very good for us throughout December. That’s the most important thing for him and for us at the moment, without getting too far forward.”

This is Oxfordshire:

Edwards spent the first half of last season on loan at the U’s from Ipswich Town, after arriving on summer deadline day, and he netted twice in four appearances.

However, a hamstring injury suffered in training at the end of September ruled him out for two months.

He played two games at the end of November, but a recurrence of the hamstring problem saw Edwards return to the sidelines.

The winger then had his Tractor Boys contract terminated by mutual consent in January, prior to signing a deal with United until the end of the campaign.

He failed to feature again though, and agreed another short-term contract on September 3.