Mansfield Town signed former League One promotion winner Oscar Gobern on Saturday to strengthen their injury-hit squad.

He played almost the second half of Saturday’s goalless draw at Hartlepool United, which left the Stags just one point off the play-off places in League Two but without a qin in four matches in all competitions.

The 25-year-old was promoted into the Championship with Southampton in 2011 and Huddersfield a year later.

After making over 70 appearances for Huddersfield, the 6ft 3in midfielder was snapped up by QPR before a knee injury halted his progress.

“Oscar is an excellent signing for us,” said Stags boss Adam Murray. “He has an excellent pedigree, mainly at Championship level. His ability is Championship-standard and he has a hunger to return to playing at the highest level – obviously we want that to be with us.

“Oscar is a very technical player, but also has the ability to get box-to-box and make things happen.

“Oscar was waiting for an opportunity for a club which matches his ambition and after speaking to a few [clubs] in League One, he felt that we were the right fit.

“He knows Daryl Taylor (strength & conditioning coach) personally and has worked with him over the summer, so we know he’ll be in good shape generally. It will be just a case of increasing his match time as soon as possible.

“We believe this signing can improve the team and we look forward to having him in our environment.”

The Stags