Dundee United have signed Celtic goalkeeper Ross Doohan on loan after it was confirmed that Benjamin Siegrist is ‘likely’ to miss the rest of the season.
And the Scotland under-21 international could be handed a baptism of fire at Pittodrie after being included in the squad for United’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Aberdeen on Sunday.
Highly-rated Doohan, 23, has previously been farmed out to Morton, Ayr United and Ross County, spending the first half of this campaign with the Dingwall outfit and making five Premiership appearances.
United swooped after a scan on Siegrist’s wrist injury showed a fracture which is set to end his campaign.
Back-up Jack Newman is also unavailable due to a knee issue, which forced Neil Alexander to roll back the years and play understudy to Deniz Mehmet in the last two fixtures.
Siegrist — the most prolific shot-stopper in the top-flight this term — sustained the damage during the warm-up for United’s 1-0 win over Forfar in the Scottish Cup.
The incident hit the headlines in the following days due to a furious backlash to comments made by BBC analyst Richard Foster, who stated: “This might sound horrible, but I hope he has broken his wrist or his hand — because otherwise just strap it up and get out there and play.”
A statement from the Tannadice club confirmed: “Dundee United has signed goalkeeper Ross Doohan from Celtic on an emergency loan.
“The 23-year-old enjoyed a successful loan spell at Ayr United where he made 80 appearances over two campaigns in the Scottish Championship between 2018-2020. He then joined Ross County on loan at the beginning of this season and made five appearances.
“Ross will join Deniz Mehmet in the squad for Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie at Aberdeen.
We can confirm the signing of Goalkeeper Ross Doohan from Celtic on an emergency loan. Ross will join Deniz Mehmet in the squad for Sunday's Scottish Cup tie at Aberdeen.
➡️ https://t.co/XFpoc9VRo8#UnitedTogether
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) April 24, 2021
“The club acted after it was confirmed that Benji Siegrist is likely to miss the remainder of the season due to a fracture picked up during the warm up in the Scottish Cup win over Forfar, with Jack Newman also unavailable after a knee injury he sustained back in January.”