John Hughes insists he is prepared to take a ‘chance’ on a cameo from Graham Dorrans in Dunfermline’s crunch clash with Queen of the South.
The former Rangers, West Brom and Scotland midfielder has been sidelined for seven weeks with a calf injury but has stepped up his training in the wake of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Partick Thistle.
The loss leaves the Pars in ninth in the Championship and desperately seeking a victory over already-doomed Queens on Friday so they can avoided that dreaded relegation play-off spot should Ayr United slip up against Partick.
The return of Dorrans would be a massive pick-me-up for the Fifers in such a crucial game.
He said: “He’s ahead of schedule. He’s trained and he did a lot more training on Monday than he has done.
“So, we’ll wait until Tuesday to see if he’s got any reaction to it, and if he joins in training on Tuesday he’ll certainly come into contention.
“I think he’s got half an hour in him.
“But if you saw Graham Dorrans the last time we played down at Queen of the South, that half an hour of that kind of quality could be the difference maker.
“That’s probably what he’s got in him at this moment in time but if he was injury free I would be prepared to take that chance.”
Meanwhile, Hughes has vowed to make an early decision on the fitness of Coll Donaldson after the Ross County loan defender’s injury worries disrupted preparations for Saturday’s defeat to Partick.
The 27-year-old had to be substituted at half-time in the 2-1 victory over Ayr United because of a groin problem and was given until the last minute to prove his fitness for Thistle.
He added: “We had a wee bit of a dilemma in terms of team selection going into the game on Saturday, in terms of Coll Donaldson.
“We gave him right up until the last minute, and that was Saturday morning, to see if he would make it.
“Unfortunately, he never, but the physio says that with another week he should be there.
“That’s why we just decided to change it and chop it about a wee bit.
“I wouldn’t want to make that decision again on match-day, late on the Friday morning, to see how he is.
“I think it’s unfair on the rest of them.
“So, we want him back on the training pitch on Wednesday, so that when he wakes up on the Thursday he says, ‘aye, I can go with that’.
