Paul Simpson hopes Owen Moxon will recover from sickness in time to travel with Carlisle United to Oxford.

The midfielder had been due to return to training after a dead leg.

But illness then held up his comeback.

Manager Simpson said the 25-year-old will travel with the squad should he make a quick recovery.

Speaking at his press conference on Thursday afternoon, Simpson said: “He was due to train today, so he felt his dead leg had improved, which we thought it would over a few days.

“But he got this sickness bug yesterday.

“We just have to wait and see whether it clears out of his system and whether he’s got any energy left to be able to start the game.

“If he’s got any chance of being involved he’ll be travelling.”

Moxon suffered the dead leg in United’s opening league game against Fleetwood Town last weekend, and sat out Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Harrogate Town.

Simpson said United had picked up “a few niggles” from the latter game but did not name names.

On Tuesday he said his quadruple half-time substitution was partly influenced by the “niggles”.

The players to go off at the interval were Jordan Gibson, Jack Armer, Dylan McGeouch and Sam Lavelle.

Paul Huntington and Fin Back will return after being rested on Tuesday while Callum Guy, who was a substitute at Harrogate after a bout of tonsilitis, is back in starting contention.

Carlisle are travelling by train for this weekend’s game with Simpson hoping his squad feel the benefit.

“We’re going on the train – I’m looking forward to seeing how that goes,” he said.

“It was Sir Dave Brailsford who talked about marginal gains…we’re trying to get any marginal gain and if this one works, then fantastic.

“I still do think it’s about the players going and performing on Saturday regardless of how we travel.

“But if it helps us and gives us a bit of energy rather than sitting seven hours on a coach, brilliant.”