KARL Robinson says the forthcoming return of several key players is a factor in Oxford United’s hunt for a free agent.

The U’s head coach has considered signing an out of contract player after reaching the end of the summer transfer window with spaces in his squad.

United have six first-team players sidelined through injury, but some are expected to return before the end of September.

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And Robinson revealed that could influence his decision to bring in a free agent – especially one who might take time to get up to speed.

He said: “You could be bringing in a player aged 31, 32 or 33 who hasn’t had a game yet – what happens if they break down?

“If someone comes up that’s fit, playing and training that would be a big one for us, but for someone to come in from the outside that hasn’t played many games, they will take more time.

“Then once they start getting fit, you’ve got your players back anyway.

“There are one or two that we’ve looked at and you get some decent CVs put in front of you, but we’re expecting four or five back within the next three weeks.

“It’s going to take three weeks to get some of these (out of contract) players fit.

“Then you’re overspending on your budget and you don’t want to waste any money, so we’ve got to be quite creative in how we do that.”

English Football League rules state that Sky Bet League One and Two clubs can name up to 22 outfield players aged over 21 in their squad.

The U’s have three spaces, even accounting for their lengthy injury list.

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Sam Baldock, Yanic Wildschut, Josh Murphy, Elliott Moore, Matty Taylor and Steve Seddon were all sidelined for the 2-1 win over Burton Albion on September 3.

Baldock and Murphy stepped up their recoveries last week, while only Wildschut is expected to be unavailable beyond the foreseeable future after injuring his hamstring in a friendly at AFC Wimbledon in July.

A thigh issue has kept Moore out since the 2-1 defeat to Lincoln City on August 16 and he had another scan last week.

“There’s a slight tear, we’re not quite sure if that’s caused the bleeding,” Robinson said.

“He’s still struggling to put any power through that leg and we’ll have to wait and see how that goes."