Dundee boss Jim McIntyre has revealed that first-choice keeper Jack Hamilton will be out for the foreseeable future as he needs to go under the knife.
The former Hearts goalie has been playing through the pain barrier in recent weeks with a finger problem but he now requires surgery.
With Hamilton set to be unavailable, the Dens boss snapped up stopper Seny Dieng on loan from Queens Park Rangers on Thursday until the end of the season.
The 24-year-old will now compete with Elliott Parish for the keeper’s jersey as Hamilton recovers from his op.
McIntyre said: “Jack needs an operation on his finger which we have known for a few weeks.
“It’s too dangerous to wait until the end of the season for Jack’s future.
“So after speaking to the hand specialist we were guided medically that he couldn’t go on for much longer.
“He has been playing with a bit of pain so it needs to get sorted now. We can’t take any risks.
“Hence the reason we have acted quickly and I am delighted to secure Seny.
“He is a player we have watched a few times. We got really good feedback and we welcome him into the group.”
Another player welcomed into the squad is centre-half Andrew Davies who signed an 18-month deal with the Dark Blues on Thursday.
The defender left Hartlepool United at the start of the week to be reunited with McIntyre who he played under when he was boss at Ross County.
The manager added: “It is a good bit of business. He brings vital experience, he is a leader and a player I know inside out.
“He spent a couple of days training with us and he is still in great nick at 34 – he’s never had pace so we don’t need to worry about that!
“Kidding and joking aside, the way he trains every day and the way he is about the dressing-room, he is exactly the type of player I want to work with.
“He has character in abundance.”
With McIntyre determined to add even more players to his squad during the window, there has been no shortage of speculation surrounding Dundee.
Morton’s Michael Tidser was reported to have signed a pre-contract with the Dark Blues but that is understood to be wide of the mark while McIntyre dismissed the suggestion he had made an offer for Ross County’s Michael Gardyne.
He said: “I read that we had put a bid in for Gardyne which is rubbish.
“There was a conversation but there was certainly no bid.”
While McIntyre looks to add, there is still the chance that Glen Kamara could be leaving Dens during the window after signing a pre-contract with Rangers.
The manager acknowledged there have been discussions between the various parties but at the moment, the Finnish international remains a Dundee player.
McIntyre, who also admitted that Partick Thistle have enquired about defender Darren O’Dea, said: “The (Kamara) situation is still the same.
“There could be more discussions, you just don’t know. It is early in the window and so we will wait and see.”
There have been suggestions that Rangers could offer fringe players in exchange for Kamara coming to Ibrox now but McIntyre said: “I won’t to go into individuals because that’s not fair. What I would say is there have been discussions and they are ongoing.”
