Cambridge United striker Gassan Ahadme out for ‘10 weeks’ while Elias Kachunga waiting for scan results on hamstring injury

Cambridge United have been rocked by the news that joint leading goalscorer Gassan Ahadme is set to spend the next ‘10 weeks’ on the sidelines.

In the absence of fellow injured forward Fejiri Okenabirhie, Ipswich Town loanee Ahadme has been leading the line since Neil Harris was appointed United’s new head coach earlier this month.

And the Spanish-born frontman has been enjoying a positive run in front of goal with a return of six goals from as many outings, taking his tally for the campaign to nine in the process.

However, Ahadme will now be out of action for the foreseeable future after Harris confirmed that he has suffered a stress fracture of the foot.

“Gassan is not good news. He’s got a stress fracture of the foot (and) it’s going to be 10 weeks (out),” said Harris.

“We only have two number nines at the football club, two strikers at the football club and both are injured for two to three months. That’s a big blow.”

Harris also revealed that Elias Kachunga missed today’s 2-1 defeat at Oxford United with a hamstring injury.

The former Huddersfield Town man has thrived in the number 10 role under Harris, but he is now awaiting the results of a scan to determine the severity of the problem.

Harris added: “It will be a few days at a time to work out how he’s going to be. He’s had a scan and we haven’t had the results back from that yet. We could be looking at a couple of weeks with a hamstring.

“Elias is top, top player at the level. He’s scored two goals in three games for me.

“He’s arguably been the best player in the team in my few weeks in charge so to lose him as well is a major blow.”

The omission of Okenabirhie, Ahadme and Kachunga proved crucial during the loss at Oxford, where the U’s dominated the first half but only had one goal to show for their efforts.

And that failure to take more of their chances was punished during the second half as the hosts hit back twice to earn all three points.

Harris intends to add to his ranks during the upcoming January transfer window, but his side faces Stevenage (December 29) and Leyton Orient (January 1) before any new faces can arrive.

“The way we played the game, the way we dominated the ball – we moved it quickly,” he said.

“We were just missing that killer moment and when you haven’t got nines, that’s what you lack in the team.

“In the short term we have to find ways, I have to be creative as a manager. I’ve been in this situation before and I’ll use my experience to find a way to score more than one goal if needed.”