Cambridge United boss Garry Monk keen to explore free agent market if club can free up the funds after injuries to Shayne Lavery and Josh Stokes

A week on from ruling out the possibility of adding to his Cambridge United squad with free agents, head coach Garry Monk has suggested that it could now be an avenue that the club is exploring.

Speaking ahead of the 2-1 loss to Mansfield Town at the weekend, Monk played down the potential for new arrivals, with the club’s budget having been spent on the 12 new additions before the transfer deadline passed late last month.

However, during the dfeat at Field Mill the U’s lost striker Shayne Lavery and creative midfielder Josh Stokes to hamstring and knee injuries respectively, with both now expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.

And with the likes of Kell Watts, Garry Gardner, Taylor Richards, Mamadou Jobe, George Thomas and Glenn McConnell all facing a varying amount of time out of action, Monk’s squad is looking thin in certain areas of the pitch.

Asked if the recent injuries to Lavery and Stokes had altered the thinking behind the scenes to signing out-of-contract players, Monk said: “That will be a club decision. In this situation, of course we need help and it would be great if we could.

“But there are things that we have that out of our control and we have budgets that we have to follow. That’s no problem, I fully understood that from the start until now.

“Whether we can or can’t (sign a free agent), we’ll see. The way we are at this moment in time, these injuries aren’t short injuries. There’s quite a few longer term and there doesn’t seem to be a seven-day or 10-day injury any more. It’s always four weeks or six weeks or eight weeks or longer.

“If we can help I’m sure the club will and if we can’t we move on. It’s my job to focus on what we have available and try to make the best of it.”

In more positive injury news, earlier today Monk reported that Elias Kachunga and Ryan Loft had returned to full training this week and are in contention for Saturday’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers.

Danny Andrew, who limped off during the first half at Mansfield, is also available to play at Adams Park.