Dundee defender Kevin Holt has recovered from his nasty head injury and will take his place against Falkirk at Dens tonight.
Holt suffered a deep cut near his ear when he was caught by a high boot from Aberdeen’s Shay Logan during the Dons’ 1-0 win at Pittodrie in the Premiership on Friday.
The initial fear as he left the field was that he might miss this evening’s William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie against the Bairns.
However, a happy Dark Blues boss Paul Hartley will be able to pick the former Queen of the South left-back for what should be a tough cup clash.
Hartley said: “Holt is fine. He got a few stitches but he has trained.
“He had to go to hospital on Saturday morning to see a specialist just to check it if there was any more damage but he is OK.
“He is heading the ball fine.
“It was just a few stitches, no real damage done.
“Also, there was no malice in the challenge. It was accidental.”
The home side will be without central defender Darren O’Dea, with the former Celtic man not being registered before the date of the original fixture, which has since suffered two postponements.
Hartley will call upon Kostadin Gadzhalov to play alongside Thomas Konrad.
The manager confirmed: “We will have to bring someone in so Kostadin will come in.
“It’s a blow to be without Darren because he has done really well.
“He’s got great experience, has played at a good level and he’s good for the squad.
“We will miss him but someone else gets a chance.”
Hartley insists the Dens Park surface is looking fine, despite a sizeable patch of the pitch in front of the dugouts having to be repaired.
The manager said: “It looks fine. There’s that one area but they have done a job on it in the short-term and it will get properly fixed in the summer.
“We were on it the last few days having a look at it and it seems OK.
“We just want the game to go ahead now.
“We have not trained on it but I had a look at it with the groundsman and it will do.
“We won’t change our style. We will try and play the way we normally play and Falkirk will be the same.
“It will be a tough game, a really good tie.
“They are a good team, they have had a good season and they have some good players.
“We will have to be at our best to get a result but the players have been well warned about that.”
Falkirk manager Peter Houston reckons that not much has changed since his side were due to visit Dens Park 18 days ago, other than both he and Hartley have gained more knowledge about the opposition.
Houston was in attendance when the Dark Blues played Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Friday night, while Hartley updated himself on the Championship side by taking in their 1-1 draw with Hibs a week past Sunday.
The Bairns boss said: “I said before the original game that Dundee were the favourites as they play in a higher league and are at home.
“That is still the case and the only thing that has changed is that both managers know a bit more about their opponents.
“I had spoken before about the creativity of Gary Harkins and the danger of Kane Hemmings and Greg Stewart and whilst they never scored at Aberdeen they were a constant threat.
“Rory Loy, who was terrific for us, came off the bench for them and that shows the strength in depth that Dundee have up front.
“We drew at Livingston at the weekend and it was a game that we played well enough in to win.
“It was two points dropped as we had chances to win.
“However, we will shake that off and be ready for Dundee.”
St Johnstone transfer target Blair Alston is set to return to a starting role after being on the bench at the weekend as Connor McGrandles is not eligible after signing on loan from Norwich after the original date for the tie.
Kieran Duffie remains out with a knee injury.