Chris Hackett will almost certainly not play a full game for Oxford United again this season.

The promising 18-year-old is suffering from a hernia, and should undergo surgery, although boss David Kemp says he can't afford to let him go because of the lack of depth in the current squad.

Hackett has been on the bench for the last four United games after serving a three-game suspension for his sending-off at Bury.

But brief substitute appearances are probably the best that United fans can hope to see of Hackett, who burst on to the scene with a scintillating goalscoring debut against Northampton back in December.

The news is a big blow for Kemp, who is hoping to use the rest of this campaign as a springboard for life in Division 3 next season.

Asked how bad the injury to Hackett is, United's boss admitted: "It's serious enough.

"He can't play 90 minutes at the moment and, in an ideal world, he'd have surgery on it, but we can't afford to let him go because I have a small enough squad here as it is.

"He's a very useful weapon to have on the bench, but he'd be an even better one if he was fully fit. He can come on and play, but it's not ideal at all.

"But I don't want to run him into the ground because he's only young and has a lot of potential. We have to be careful with him."

Tuesday's defeat at Bournemouth leaves United just one defeat away from relegation to Division 3. For Kemp, the end of the season can't come soon enough.

"Let's get these eight games over with and then re-group with everyone in the summer," he said.

"The club needs to change, but we have the basis of a decent squad here and we have to build on that.

"There have been a lot of plus points from the recent matches, but winning doesn't seem to be the most important thing here.

"I've got to instill it into the players that this isn't acceptable at all. It's OK to try and play attractive football if you're Manchester United, but we're not.

"I can't keep going with the same players who keep making mistakes. At the moment, I'm sticking with them because they're hard-working, but at the end of the day, we're not winning football matches."

United have been using just one out-and-out winger recently, Paul Powell, with Joey Beauchamp having to settle for a place on the bench and a second-half substitute appearance.

But Kemp says he is happy with the wide players he has at the club.

"I have two people in Powell and Beauchamp who can play down the left, and Chris Hackett on the right, so we're OK in that position.

"Joey's been on the bench recently, but every time he's come on he has performed well. No-one is questioning his ability, but he has to do it more often. That was my argument for putting him there in the first place."

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