Simon Lappin is confident St Johnstone will be able to cope without their two left-footers.
The former Norwich City and St Mirren man is recovering from a groin operation, while Liam Craig is now suspended.
So neither will be available to manager Tommy Wright for next weekend’s Tayside derby against Dundee United.
But high-flying saints have been able to cope with the loss of seniors players during their surge up the Premiership table, and Lappin sees no reason why that won’t continue after the international break.
He said: “I’m out injured and Liam is suspended but that’s part and parcel of football. There’s a lot of competition in midfield so the manager has options.
“We have bodies in there so we can handle it. The manager and Callum (Davidson) will know how to fill the void with two left footers being out.
”We are on a great run and we’ve dealt with injuries before.”
Lappin’s operation has been deemed a success but he’s reluctant to put a timescale on his return to action.
“It’s still a wee bit tender but the physio has come up with a recovery plan,” the former Scotland under-21 international said.
“I’m not setting any specific targets. I just want back playing as quick as I can.
“I don’t want to have a date for returning in my head. It’s about being right when I come back into training.
“We knew there was a tear in the groin and it was slightly bigger than expected. But there was nothing to worry about.
“That was good news. We wanted to make sure there was nothing that a scan had missed. So now I just have to crack on with the programme.
“There’s no point coming through the operation and pushing it too quickly.”
Lappin has carried the injury for a while, but he always knew that wasn’t a long-term solution.
“It had been a niggle for a couple of months,” he explained. “But it was getting worse and worse.
“I was getting through training sessions and games thanks to the painkillers and anti-inflammatories. It’s just what you have to do.
“But it got to the point where it wasn’t getting any better and something had to be done about it.
“We left the surgery until just before the break to minimise the number of games I was going to miss.
“It is disappointing to be missing games but it would have got worse and worse.”