James McPake has revealed he could have two more of Dunfermline’s ‘crocks’ back before the end of the season as another injured duo make progress in their comeback bids.
Striker Craig Wighton and defender Aaron Comrie were both expected to miss the rest of the campaign after being sidelined last month.
Wighton sustained a knee problem and limped out of the 5-0 hammering from Morton last month before undergoing surgery last week.
And Comrie picked up a medial ligament issue in his knee before the 3-1 victory over Partick Thistle at Firhill.
However, the duo are making swift recoveries and could make themselves available for selection before the Pars’ final game of the regular season away to Ayr on May 3.
If the Fifers maintain their recent progress and seal a hitherto unlikely promotion play-off spot then the likelihood of their comebacks will increase.
McPake said: “Wighty [Wighton] had surgery last week and is doing great. He will be another three weeks maybe.
“Aaron is flying as well.
‘Doing well’
“We don’t see them too much, they just get on with their work and they’re working really hard. The two of them are doing well.
“Craig’s was just a tidy up, a pretty simple procedure. He went in and got it done in Glasgow.
“He will be back, hopefully, by the end of the season and give us another option.
“There is only a month really to go, in terms of the official league, so we will not curse it by saying that they will be back by the end of this season.
“They are progressing really well and, given the way the two of them work in the gym, I’m not surprised.
“Hopefully they don’t hit any wee bumps in the road on their way back. But they are doing well at the minute.”
Dunfermline racked up back-to-back victories with their impressive 1-0 success away to Morton last weekend.
That followed on from the stirring 3-1 triumph over league leaders Dundee United eight days previously.
‘Boring game’
But McPake is conscious of the fact his side have not managed to string together three consecutive wins in a campaign ravaged by injuries to key players.
He is hopeful the Pars can finally achieve that in Saturday’s trip to face relegation-haunted Arbroath.
With two 1-1 draws in their last two encounters, McPake added: “It is going to be a tough game, it always is going up there. We know that.
“The game up there was a pretty boring game earlier in the season. The draw here wasn’t great either.
“But that’s from a Dunfermline point of view. They will probably say the one down here was a decent enough game for them.
“We have not managed three victories in a row this season in the league.
“Our squad is healthy, we have a good group of players to choose from and we will go up there knowing that we need to be at the levels we were at Morton to get anything out of the game.
“The incentive is to try and get three wins in a row. We want to keep putting wins on the board and get through that 40-point mark [currently 38].
“Three points on Saturday and a good performance is all we are caring about. If we get the performance we will come down the road with the three points.”
