Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray has his fingers crossed Brad Spencer will make his return to the squad this weekend.
The midfielder has been missing since December last year and was a key part of Rovers’ early-season form until then.
He returned towards the end of the season but was in a moon boot in the close season.
At the time, club physiotherapist Stewart Duff said the 26-year-old had undergone “a complex procedure to his mid-foot, with a pin placed into the base of his fifth metatarsal”.
Murray said that Spencer will “hopefully” be available for the visit of Inverness on Saturday, adding: “He’ll be in the squad for the first time since I have been here, which is great news.”
Vaughan and other long-term absentees
Murray also gave updates on the three other players who have been unavailable since he was appointed in the summer.
He said: “Thomas Lang is making great progress, but he had a serious injury, so we need to be careful.
“Ross Matthews is hopefully going to step up his rehab next week.
“If the rehab goes OK, he’ll be two to three weeks away from being ready to be in the squad.”
Lewis Vaughan, meanwhile, has an issue that the club has to be “patient” with.
Murray added: “We’ll support Lewis as much as we can.
“It’s a pain thing that, once we can manage that and gradually build him up, a wee bit – like in the Thomas Lang mould – we can getting him ready to be testing him.”
MacDonald, Ngwenya, Mitchell and Masson
Jamie MacDonald was replaced in the second half at the defeat at Firhill.
He has recovered from what was treated as a potential concussion at the time and will be available for selection.
Murray will have young centre-back Adam Masson back from injury and said two other players were still being assessed.
“Jamie is fine, he’s fit to play – he trained today no problem. he feels good,” continued Murray. “That’s a real positive for us.
“Kieran Mitchell missed out last week – his back seized up overnight – he’s still feeling it a little bit, so we need to reassess him on Friday.
“We also need to assess Kieran Ngwenya because he’s taken a little ankle knock, nothing serious.
“Adam Masson missed out with a hamstring the last couple of games but he’s had a full week’s training now, so he’ll also be with us.”
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