Oxford United striker Craig McAllister says he's itching to get back and show what he can do after his freak hamstring injury.

The former Woking and Grays striker, who had such an impressive debut for the U's when they beat Altrincham 4-0, then suffered pain and frustration as he hobbled off just half an hour into the following game, against Wey- mouth.

But despite one minor setback just under a fortnight ago, he's been able to return to training this week, and has reported no adverse reaction.

So the 27-year-old Scot could be on the bench against Droylsden at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday, with the prospect of getting 20 minutes' action near the end.

McAllister admitted: "Injuries are the most frustrating thing ever as a player.

"Sometimes you've just got to deal with these things, and you become stronger at the end of it. But it's been a long five weeks.

"It was the last thing I wanted when I came here. I was just getting in the swing of things after my first game.

"I hadn't struggled with my hamstring at all this year, and the physio thought it might have had something to do with my back. It's a nerve, some little thing like that, but I've worked hard to get back.

"At one stage we didn't think it was that bad, and then it was worse than it was, and then it wasn't too bad. I tweaked it about ten days ago and thought it could be another few weeks out, but was lucky and it healed quite quickly from then.

"We've trained hard this week and there's been no reaction to it at the moment, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

"I'm definitely itching to carry on from where I left off. I had a good start with that 4-0 win against Altrincham and it kind of went downhill after that result.

"Obviously, we had a good result last Saturday and we need to kick on again now.

"We've got a home game against a so-called lower team, I'm itching to get back, but the lads have done well, so I'll have to bide my time until I get my chance."

United boss Darren Paterson said McAllister will be involved at the weekend, providing he comes through the rest of the week without any adverse reaction.

"He's going to be a bit rusty after the time that he's been out," he admitted "It was just unfortunate for the lad, the amount of time he's been out. If you look at his injury record, he doesn't have a bad history, so it's a bit of a freak accident, which is the way our luck's been going this season.

"But we're absolutely delighted to have him back in training, and he'll be a big plus to the squad. He'll definitely be in contention for a place on the bench.

"I'm delighted with the two youngsters, Alex Fisher and Matty Taylor - I think we have brought them in and taken them out at the right times and they're progressing really, really well - but somebody of Craig's quality we would have to have in and around the bench, if he gets through this week, because he knows the game.

"His head will get him through 20-30 minutes even if he's not at physical match fitness."

McAllister feels he still has much to prove in this season's remaining 15 games.

"My aims now are to have an injury-free run until the end of the season, score as many goals and win as many games as possible, and go from there," he said.