OXFORD United manager Malcolm Shotton described the current injury crisis at the Manor Ground as the worst he has ever known at the club.
Earlier in the week, seven senior players were sidelined and the U's were today facing last season's Division 1 play-off finalists Sunderland at their Stadium of Light without four and possibly five key players.
"We haven't done anything in training this week that might make the situation even worse," Shotton said. "We've wrapped them in cotton wool.
"We had seven first-team players out and we're going to a hotbed of football looking to have 18-year-old kids on the bench. It's not ideal."
Shotton spent eight seasons at the Manor as a player yet he says: "This is the worst injury crisis I've known at this football club."
Oxford have scored only five goals in 12 trips to Sunderland.
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