OXFORD United will welcome Jordan Thorniley back to the matchday squad tonight, but face an anxious wait to see if Peter Kioso is available.

Thorniley has been struggling with an ankle problem, but his return will alleviate United’s defensive woes.

U’s skipper Elliott Moore is suspended for the trip to Sheffield United after picking up his fifth booking of the season, while Ben Nelson has joined Joe Bennett as a long-term absentee.

Kioso was unavailable for United’s 6-2 defeat at home to Middlesbrough after falling ill while on international duty with DR Congo, and the U’s will make a late call on his involvement.

Matt Phillips and Przemyslaw Placheta returned from injury against Boro, having both been out since August, and the wingers will not be rushed back into the starting line-up.

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U’s head coach Des Buckingham explained: “Our plan was to integrate them if the game allowed, and when the fourth goal went in, we took Elliott off because the referee at half-time told him if he made one more tackle, that he was going to send him off.

“Elliott also picked up his fifth booking of the season, so we knew we weren’t going to be without Elliott anyway, so it was about trying to prepare for what the next game was going to be.

“That allowed us to get Matty and Shemmy on, but it’s now making sure that we manage them in a way that keeps them back and keeps them in the squad rather than bringing them back too quickly or too soon, as we’ve seen previously in the 12 months I’ve been here, where you put them back in and they potentially break down very quickly.”