OXFORD United will not be using their injury list as an excuse, says head coach Des Buckingham.

The U’s currently have a number of first team players out with injury, including left back Joe Bennett, midfielder Cameron Brannagan, and wingers Siriki Dembele, Kyle Edwards, Matt Phillips and Przemyslaw Placheta.

Buckingham confirmed after United’s 2-0 defeat at Sky Bet Championship leaders Sunderland that no players will return until after the November international window.

It means the U’s will have a reduced squad to work with for at first, this weekend’s home game against Swansea City, and then for the visit of Hull City on Tuesday night and the trip to Watford a week tonight.

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Three matches within the space of a week will test United’s squad depth, but Buckingham says injuries and the schedule will not be used as excuses.

He said: “It’ll be challenging, but not one we’re going to shy away from or make excuses for.

“We know we’ve got players out, and we know those players aren’t back until after the window, but we’ve already shown without those players, we can compete and take points in this league.

“Certainly at home, we’ve been able to demonstrate that a lot more in terms of returning points, and that’s what we’ll be looking to do on Saturday.”

Despite a run of seven fixtures without a win, a sequence which includes five draws, the U’s remain unbeaten at home this season.

Three wins in Sky Bet Championship, plus three draws, have been obtained at the Kassam Stadium, with the Swans next up.

Buckingham said: “They’ve had probably 60, nearly 70 per cent possession in the last five or six games, and that didn’t matter whether it was home or away.

“They’re a team that likes to have a lot of the ball, and like to try and drag you across the pitch and open up spaces, and that’s something we’ll have to be mindful of.

“They’re a team that’s coming to our home, and one that we want to put on a good show, like we have done, whether it’s a Norwich, a Stoke, a West Brom or Burnley.

“We want to put on a good account of ourselves in front of our own fans.”

He added: “Any point in this league is very difficult. There’s a lot of work that goes in both on and off the pitch to try and get a point.

“Of course you want to play well and get three points, everybody wants that, but this league is not as easy as that.

“We’ve been able to pick up some really good points at home. We’ve been able to become a bit more stubborn on the road to make sure that regardless of how we play, we come away from games and dig in, and take something from games away from home.”