Dundee United have been dealt a major blow after experienced defender Declan Gallagher sustained an ankle injury during a recent bounce game.
Gallagher, 34, picked up slight ligament damage during a friendly against Hibernian last week after landing awkwardly.
Despite swirling rumours suggesting the Scotland international had suffered a fracture, boss Jim Goodwin allayed those fears.
Nevertheless, barring a miraculous recovery, Gallagher won’t face Ross County on Sunday.
Goodwin said: “We had a bounce game last week and Deccy Gallagher hurt his ankle. So, he’d be considered a major doubt. Apart from that, we are looking alright in terms of available players.
“It (Gallagher’s injury) is not hugely serious, but it could be a couple of weeks, potentially. There’s no fracture; no break. There’s a bit of ligament damage.
“In the build up to the international break, we arranged the bounce game to get some minutes for guys that really needed it – those coming back from injuries – and it was just an unfortunate incident with Gall.
“He went up for a header and landed awkwardly. It’s a strain and slight ligament damage. But no ruptures or broken bones. He’s just swollen and sore at the moment.”
Selection conundrum
The huge set-back leaves Goodwin with a major defensive headache for Sunday’s crucial trip to face Ross County.
With Emmanuel Adegboyega suspended and Kevin Holt long-departed for Derry City, Ross Graham and Sam Cleall-Harding are the only recognised centre-backs in the United squad – and the latter has never played a senior game for the club.
Vicko Sevelj is an option to play in the heart of defence but struggled in that role against Falkirk at the start of the campaign. His influence in the engine room would also be sorely missed.
Goodwin added: “Sam (Cleall-Harding) has enjoyed a fantastic week, making his U/19s debut and then his U/21s debut a couple of days later.
“We have spoken about the potential we believe he has. We’ve got high hopes for him. But we need to be careful with younger players, in terms of when we give them the opportunity. Timing is important.
“We’ve got a bit of considering to do about our starting 11.”
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