LIAM Kelly is being put through his own mini pre-season in a bid to get the midfielder up to speed at Oxford United.

The 24-year-old has recovered from the nerve issue which forced him off in last week's 2-2 draw at Burton Albion.

But he has found it difficult to get going since joining the U's on loan last month, having played just twice at Feyenoord in the first half of the season.

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Head coach Karl Robinson believes the only way for Kelly to catch up is to leave him out of first team selection for the next couple of games so he can maximise fitness work.

He said: "We’ve pulled him out for a week now. He’s fit but we’re doing a really intense pre-season with him.

"It’s breaking it down and rebuilding it - you can't do that whilst he's playing or on the bench.

"The sports science team say they need a ten-day period where we build up a resistance to being able to cope with the demands of a game."

United are hoping to organise another behind-closed-doors game to assist with the process.

Ben Woodburn, who is due back in training next week after a lengthy lay-off, and George Thorne would also be involved.