Dundee’s Simon Ferry will undergo medical tests after his comeback bid stalled because of difficulties breathing.
The former Celtic and Portsmouth midfielder had to call off before the Aberdeen game two weeks ago when he was rushed to hospital after being up all Friday night vomiting.
It was initially thought that the 26-year-old was suffering from appendicitis but those fears proved unfounded with a stomach bug pinpointed as the cause of his sickness.
Having recovered from that, Ferry turned out for the Dark Blues’ Development side on Tuesday night against Falkirk at Gayfield but had to leave the field shortly after kick-off.
Dundee boss Paul Hartley said: “Simon is going for tests because we need to get to the bottom of it.
“He played in the Under-20s game the other night but had to come off after 20 minutes with breathing problems.
“So he’s got to get blood tests to find out what it is but he is in a bad way. The doctor thinks it could be bronchitis, an infection has got into his chest.
“It’s not good and we don’t know how long he’ll be out for but his health is the most important thing.”
That Aberdeen game ended in defeat, Dundee’s fourth loss in a row, with the international break coming at exactly the right time for the Dark Blues.
Hartley has now demanded a reaction from his players to that disappointing sequence of results when they travel to face Motherwell tomorrow.
And he insists they also have to regain the sort of defensive fortitude they showed when they started the season with an eight-game unbeaten run.
The manager added: “The players have had a couple of weeks since the last game so they’ll be fresh.
“Training has been bright and sharp so the lads are raring to go and to get back on track.
“We want to see a reaction from the last few defeats but our play has been good.
“Our offensive play has been good but we just have to make sure we close the door and don’t give away goals.
“We’ll try to play good football but it’s about winning as well. You always want to perform well and win but the most important thing is getting a result.”
Dundee will face a side going through a slump of their own with Motherwell having lost their last three games.
However, Hartley admitted that Stuart McCall’s Steelmen possess plenty of threats throughout their side and the Dark Blues will have to be wary of a backlash.
He said: “Stuart has done a terrific job over the last few years but it’s difficult when you keep losing players.
“There’s not much between any of the clubs and some of us are having a rough time of it at the moment.
“But it changes quickly and Motherwell have good players, a good team and a good manager.
“With the likes of John Sutton, Henrik Ojaama and Lionel Ainsworth, they have guys who can hurt anyone.
“It has the makings of a good open game on Saturday.”