Darren Patterson may have to play Eddie Hutchinson as a make-shift centre-back again in Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie against Dorch-ester because of the club’s injury crisis.

The midfielder played at the back alongside Chris Willmott in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Forest Green in the Setanta Shield and did well, heading home the equaliser to send the game into extra time.

And Patterson hinted he may use the permutation again, particularly with Luke Foster ruled out of the Dorchester game due to an ankle injury.

Foster limped out of training on Tuesday and was taken for a precautionary X-ray, but the damage was diagnosed as ligament damage rather than a fracture.

The club’s other centre back, Barry Quinn, is struggling with an ankle problem.

“Basically, I’ll be looking to see who’s going to be fit enough to play,” Patterson said.

“It’s a possibility that Hutch could play there again.”

Winger Sam Deering is struggling with a knee injury, though midfielder Adam Murray could return after missing the Forest Green defeat due to illness.

Patterson, who was forced to play youngsters Richard Groves and Matt Taylor, said: “I set out with the intention of us winning the game, but because of the injuries, I was forced to experiment.

“We wanted to keep our winning run going, but we didn’t have enough of a cutting edge up front.”

Meanwhile, the U’s are looking for a crowd of more than 3,000 on Saturday in order to try and help the team get through.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas said: “We saw this game as a great opportunity to try and set a target in terms of the number of fans in the stand.

“We know our supporters are fantastic and a crowd of 3,000-plus will create that great atmosphere again which has helped pick up five straight home wins.

“We are confident that the people of Oxford will get behind the team again.”