If Brechin are to secure promotion from League One this season, they will have to do so without top goal scorer Alan Trouten.
City boss Ray McKinnon has revealed that “Trouts” broke his ribs against tonight’s opponents Peterhead the last time the sides met two Saturdays ago and he will miss the rest of the campaign.
That is the last thing the manager wanted for the League run-in and he admitted it was a huge loss.
However, the manager has managed to offset that blow for his side as they look to bounce back after losing the Angus derby to Forfar at the weekend by bringing Jamie Masson back from Aberdeen until the end of the season on an emergency loan deal.
The midfielder has been in great form in recent weeks for Paul Sheerin’s Dons Development side and was on loan at Glebe Park earlier in the season, appearing 14 times and scoring three times.
He goes straight into the squad for tonight’s game which will hopefully attract a larger than usual attendance with Brechin generously offering fans the chance to sample “Fitba For A Fiver”. This sees the normal gate entry price of £12 slashed to £5 and concessions will get free entry.
McKinnon knows a big backing would be a boost as Brechin have yet to beat the Blue Toon in the previous four meetings between the sides so far this season, with the manager admitting Jim McInally’s teams are always tough to play against.
He said: “Despite the defeat, I was fairly pleased with the performance at the weekend especially as we had Colin Hamilton suspended and Alan Trouten missing through injury.
“Trouts broke his ribs in the last minute of our recent game up in Peterhead and he will be out for six weeks, meaning his season is over.
“It is a huge blow for us as he is our top scorer and a very important player for us.
“We have a small squad so to lose him at the business end of the season is especially tough to take.
“We will have Colin back but Craig Storie will miss out as he is away in Austria with the Scotland Under-19 squad.
“However, I am delighted that Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes has agreed to allow Jamie to rejoin us until the end of the season.
“He will be a valuable addition against a Peterhead side who have been a bit of a bogey outfit for us this season.
“Jim’s teams are always hard to beat but we have a huge incentive to win as it would leave us four points off the top with six games to go and a victory would get us right back in the hunt.
“We will go and try to win every game and the lads all know exactly what’s at stake.”