THREE key Oxford United players could miss Saturday's important clash with Plymouth Argyle.

Brandon Barker will be absent for a third successive game due to the hamstring injury he suffered against Shrewsbury Town nine days ago.

Meanwhile, Cameron Brannagan is a major doubt after sustaining a dead leg at AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday, with head coach Karl Robinson saying the U's are 'still waiting' on the midfielder.

James Henry is also unavailable as he serves a one-match ban for his sending-off at Plough Lane, further limiting United's attacking options.

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The U's need a positive result to stay in contention for the Sky Bet League One play-offs and Robinson admitted the news was a huge blow.

On Barker, he said: “We made a decision today that he won’t be fit.

"It’s a big loss to us, as well as Cameron getting injured and now James Henry.

"We lost with tremendous passion and desire with a really good performance (at Wimbledon), but on top of that losing them is a bigger disappointment than the result.

"We’ve still got ourselves in a wonderful position and it’s an incredibly important fixture.

"It’s the third game in this block and we still have an achievable target, so it’s important that we have as many players fit and available as possible.”