Raith Rovers have been handed another injury boost after Keith Watson edged closer to a comeback.
The former Dundee United and Ross County defender has been sidelined since being substituted in the 1-0 defeat to Airdrie on September 23.
The 34-year-old sustained a knee problem and has been nursed slowly back to fitness since that solitary league loss of the campaign.
The experienced summer signing stepped up his rehabilitation on Monday as he began running again with the Rovers’ medical team.
If he comes through the increase in workload without any setbacks, the stopper is scheduled to return to full training with his Stark’s Park team-mates next Monday.
It comes too late for Watson to be involved against his former club at Tannadice on Saturday or against Arbroath on Wednesday night.
But his availability would further boost a Raith squad that welcomed the return of Ross Matthews for the first time in six months for Friday night’s extraordinary 4-3 victory over Partick Thistle.
Why are Raith comeback kings?
The late comeback from a 3-2 deficit in a match they led 2-0 early in the second-half against Thistle was yet another example of Rovers’ never-say-die spirit this season.
Late rallies have helped earn them the right to go back to the top of the Championship with a win at Gayfield before a massive top-of-the-table clash with United.
And manager Ian Murray believes there are twin reasons for his team being comeback kings this season.
He has praised the work of head of sport science Blair Doughty – and the quality options he has to make alterations to his starting line-up.
The three players – Scott Brown, Aidan Connolly and Callum Smith – who combined to set up Sam Stanton for Friday’s 82nd-minute winning goal were all second-half replacements.
Murray explained: “I’ve told the boys they deserve a lot of credit, and so does Blair, our fitness coach, for the way the boys are looking.
“I don’t look at them in any game and think they’re flagging.
“I think fitness has to be part of it, because you can’t keep that quality that they’re showing in these final moments when you’re not fit.
“In any sport, you tend to be a wee bit all over the place towards the end.
“But we just seem to keep going.
‘Raith Rovers have got a quality squad’
“And I also think just having really good players to come on is a big thing.
“I’m not saying we’ve got a massive squad, because we don’t.
“But we’ve got a quality squad, which has been so important.
“And when you’ve done it as many times as we have, your mentality changes. You don’t panic.
“But sometimes you can be disappointed in a game when it finishes 1-1 or 0-0 and you don’t get that late goal, because sometimes people expect it.”
