Oxford United had to watch James Henry suffer a nasty facial injury on Friday - and Karl Robinson has now revealed to the Oxford Mail just how severe the damage is to the player.

The 32-year-old has been a frequent first-team player throughout the campaign, playing in 26 League One games so far this campaign with ten goal contributions.

He's helped the U's to climb to eighth in the table and a potential tilt at the play-offs but that might be all she wrote for his playing time this season, with his manager revealing that he might not be able to get back on the field for the next three fixtures.

That's because it's been revealed that the forward suffered a fractured nose following the aerial clash against Fleetwood and also has a gash to his forehead - meaning that he could now be sidelined until the next campaign.

It will be a blow for the League One side, with the club still desperately trying to claw their way into the play-off places. They haven't mathematically been ruled out of the running yet but with a five point gap opening up and only three games left to play, it's going to be harder to break into those play-off places now.

They may also have to do it without Henry, with Karl Robinson telling the Oxford Mail that it was 'hard' for everyone at the club to see him suffer those injuries which may now rule him out of the run-in.

Speaking about the injuries, the manager said: "He’s had quite a severe gash in his forehead and a fracture to the top of the nose. It wasn’t a good one, but a massive thank you to the doctors and to Amy [Cranston, the club's first-team physio].

"We probably won’t see him again this season. It’s difficult for him, especially off the back of the injuries he’s had this year. It was hard for all of us to see."

The Verdict

It's a real shame to hear about the damage done to James Henry, especially off the back of what has been a fairly productive season for the Oxford man.

He has been able to contribute effectively when he has been able to get onto the field this year and although they might not nab a play-off place this campaign, the side cannot say they have had a bad campaign by any means and his goals and assists have added to that.

It would have been a boost, especially to their top six hopes, to have him available in these last few games. However, the injuries do sound bad and as long as the player is able to make a full recovery and be ready for next season, then that is the main thing.

Instead, Robinson will have to look elsewhere for a winger to make do until the season comes to a close.