IVO Pekalski’s chances of playing for Oxford United rest on how the midfielder measures up to testing in training over the next fortnight.

The 28-year-old is back with the squad after taking a short break following a loan spell in Sweden with former club Halmstads.

It allowed Pekalski to get back up to speed after a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered in his first training session with the U’s wiped out most of last season.

With his contract expiring next summer, it is now or never for the midfielder to make his mark.

Boss Karl Robinson plans to take a close look at Pekalski between now and Christmas before making a decision.

He said: “When he was here last year it was a bit unfair to judge him.

“He got a bad injury almost immediately and he struggled to get back to full fitness when I came here.

“He’s had a half-decent loan where he’s played.

“We’ll see where his fitness levels are and whether it’s right for everybody if we keep him around or he goes back on loan in January.

“It gives us a little window of opportunity for a couple of weeks to have a good look at him and get him into some under 23 games.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him here.

“We’ll see how it goes and monitor the situation.”

During his loan, Pekalski missed just one league game, due to suspension, making 14 appearances in the Superettan, Sweden’s second tier, as Halmstads finished fifth.