Arbroath could be without a number of key players for their Premier Sports Cup clash with St Mirren this weekend.
The Lichties travel to Paisley on Saturday to kick off the 2022/23 season as they look to pick up where they left off after narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premiership last season.
The Angus side will have to leave it late, though, to assess the fitness of some squad members for the Buddies clash.
Injury worries
Luke Donnelly and Michael McKenna are doubts for the League Cup opener.
Donnelly is said to be struggling with a niggle while last season’s Championship Player of the Year McKenna, who missed the previous two weeks due to a family holiday may not feature.
Dylan Paterson, meanwhile, is unavailable this weekend.
“We’ve got a massive game against St Mirren on Saturday,” Arbroath assistant Ian Campbell told Courier Sport.
“We’ve got a few injuries. We’re a bit limited in our pool but we’ll make a good account of ourselves. We still have a good team.”
One player who will form part of the matchday squad is new boy Daniel Fosu.
The 23-year-old will be a welcome addition to the team after he was announced on a short-term deal on Thursday.
Light squad
The Lichties still have another few players training with them but will be unable to feature as trialists due to cup eligibility rules.
That will leave the side without a full substitutes’ bench
Clubs are permitted to make five subs from nine, taking the number of players available in a match day squad to 20.
However, Arbroath have 18 just players registered, one more than they did this time last year.
Campbell believes the weekend clash will be a test for his side.
“That’s always a problem that this cup throws up,” he said.
“They are all good teams we have in this group section but we’re looking forward to kicking it off against St Mirren.
“We’re probably not as match fit as we would have liked but that will come through the month of July.
“The friendlies have been good but in a lot of ways we could have had more. We have been limited as that would have taken away training sessions.
“We’re using these games as a barometer.”
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