Exeter will be without midfielder Nigel Atangana for their Sky Bet League Two clash with Cambridge.

The 30-year-old scored his first league goal for the club during their 1-0 win at fellow promotion hopefuls Forest Green but was sent off one minute into the second half.

Atangana will begin a three-match ban and is set to be replaced by Jake Taylor in midfield.

Midfielder Jack Sparkes will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, while defender Craig Woodman (knee) and forward Lee Holmes (foot) are also sidelined.

On-loan Cambridge midfielder Jack Roles has been ruled out for the trip to Devon by manager Colin Calderwood.

The 20-year-old has scored five goals in 19 league appearances this season but will be rested as the club manage the workload on his hips, according to Calderwood, but should be available for next weekend’s match with Stevenage.

Leon Davies is set to return for his first appearance since sustaining a broken nose in mid-November, while fellow defender Kyle Knoyle (dislocated shoulder) will need surgery on his injury but has been given the all-clear to play at Exeter.

Reggie Lambe serves the second of his three-match suspension, with fellow midfielder Samir Carruthers set to miss out for a fifth straight game due to a personal issue.