Manager Tommy Wright has admitted St Johnstone have missed Murray Davidson.
Davidson came back with a bang from injury as the Perth men beat Inverness Caley Thistle 3-0 at McDiarmid Park on Saturday, starring in a deeper-than-usual midfield role.
It was the first time he had pulled on a Saints shirt since fracturing his ankle during the warm-up before the match against Rangers on October 26.
The performance against the Highlanders earned high praise from Wright, who conceded that they could have done with him during their four-game winless run that spanned his absence.
Wright said: “He was a big part in our success and we have probably missed him.
“Playing in that deeper role probably helped him get through the game but his general fitness is incredible.
“He hadn’t played for five weeks but he was still going strong at the end.
“There’s probably no other player, with the exception of Steven MacLean, that I would have put right back in without a full 90 minutes under his belt.
“He is probably best going box to box but Murray is an intelligent and adaptable footballer.
“He knows where to be to snuff out situations and gave good protection in there for our centre-backs.”
Wright revealed he felt Davidson “got off lucky” when he survived – apart from his black eye – a particularly nasty challenge from ICT’s Lonsana Doumbouya.
The Saints boss added: “I think Murray got off lucky to escape a serious injury.
“I was concerned initially for him before he got back to his feet.
“I haven’t seen it back but at the time I thought it could have been a red card because the lad was so late with a poor challenge, and it was head to head.”
Saints have David Wotherspoon nursing a knock and he skipped training yesterday, while Paul Paton missed Saturday’s game with an ankle injury.
Wright said of Paton: “He hurt his ankle on Friday and it seemed all right at the time.
“However, it swelled up overnight and we had to change things.
“We will monitor him over the course of the week.
“Hopefully, he won’t need a scan but we will have to get one done if it doesn’t improve.”
Keith Watson is close to a squad recall but might need another development game under his belt, while Wright reported that Michael Coulson came through the ICT match unscathed.
The manager added: “Michael has probably been frustrated at having to wait for starts but he can be pleased with his contribution.
“He probably didn’t get him on the ball as much as we’d have wanted but he worked very hard for the team.”
