Liam Fox has revealed that the shoulder injury sustained by Mark Birighitti against St Johnstone is not as severe as initially feared.
The Australia internationalist suffered a knock in ludicrous fashion on Saturday, dallying on the ball in his own goal-mouth and allowing Stevie May to slide home the winner.
Following Birighitti’s hefty landing, Fox suspected that United’s No.1 could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, which would have left the Tangerines with only Jack Newman to call upon between the sticks.
In that case, the club would have been forced to consider an emergency loan or free agent.
However, there is no dislocation or fracture, albeit soreness and bruising have caused Birighitti to miss training this week.
His recovery timeframe remains uncertain ahead of the upcoming relegation six-pointer at Ross County.
How not to play out from the back 😬
Over to you Dundee United…
(🎥 @BBCSportScot)#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/wlk3gnqerc
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 19, 2023
“It is not as bad as we first thought,” revealed Fox. “Mark’s shoulder is still an issue, although it wasn’t dislocated or fractured.
“There is some swelling and soreness so we will see. He didn’t train on Tuesday.
“We are taking it day-by-day to see where we are at. We will know by the end of Wednesday where he is (in terms of recovery) and whether we need to look at trying for a loan.
“It is day by day.”
Middleton pain
Fox does not have his injury problems to seek, with Glenn Middleton facing between a month and six weeks on the sidelines due to a hamstring strain.
He joins Peter Pawlett and Ian Harkes — also with hamstring complaints — on the treatment table, while Jamie McGrath recently recovered from a similar issue.
“We’ve had a timescale of four to six weeks,” said Fox. “It all depends on how Glenn reacts.
“It is a massive blow for us and the kid because he was coming on to a good bit of form and was doing really well.
“I know Glenn is a quick healer and he will do all he can, just like Pete (Pawlett) and (Ian) Harkes, to get back into the team as quickly as they can.”
Hamstring concerns
And Fox admits the flurry of hamstring problems have afforded him serious food for thought after seeing an already thin pool of attack-minded players stretched to the extreme.
While loath to blame any one cause, it is a pattern he is determined to halt.
“It is something that has been flagged up,” acknowledged Fox. “We have had a number of hamstring injuries now and we have been looking at things to alleviate any more issues on that front.
“It could be down to a number of factors. It could be the pitch, the number of games we have had and the work we expect the players to do.
“There are a number of things we expect the player to do, as well.
“It is probably more than one thing but we need to stop it happening again.”
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