St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson fears Cammy MacPherson has torn a thigh muscle and could be out of action for several weeks.
The midfielder was sent for a scan after being taken off early in Saints’ weekend defeat to Rangers.
Results aren’t yet back but Davidson fears that the “pop” MacPherson experienced when he kicked the ball means a spell on the sidelines is on the cards.
“We are waiting on the scan results and should have those in the next couple of days,” said the Perth boss. “But it wasn’t great because he felt something pop.
“That suggests it could be a little tear so if it is, hopefully it’s not too bad and settles down quickly.”
Three in a row
Before the season started, MacPherson had prioritised staying fit above everything else as he hadn’t managed to start three games in a row for Saints after joining from St Mirren.
He still hasn’t.
“It’s such a shame for Cammy and for us because he’s been playing really well,” said Davidson.
“He’s won his place in the team so it’s going to be a great shame if he’s out for three or four weeks now.
“He’s desperate to be playing. He works very hard in training and in the gym because he wants to become better.
“He’s got all the attributes to be a top quality Premiership midfielder but he needs to get that run of games.
“It’s rotten luck for him because he’s not had more than three games on the bounce since arriving.
“We see him in training, see how good he is but he needs to be playing consistently.
“For any player, to get that consistency of performance and really kick on you need 10, 15 games in a row in a team.
“As a team you also need players in there for that length of time because it allows others to get used to their way of playing and form those partnerships.
“So it’s a huge shame he’s not been able to get that so far.
“Cammy has all the ability. He’s got great potential and if he gets a clear run can be the player we think he can be.”
Davidson believes MacPherson’s succession of injuries are down to pure bad luck rather than anything that warrants further investigation.
“Cammy just needs a change of fortune because it has been shoulder injuries, his groin and now his thigh,” he said.
“If it was the same injury recurring over and over you’d be looking at it thinking we need to explore it much further.
“But it’s all different areas.”
Possible bounce game for Daniel Phillips
MacPherson’s replacement, Daniel Phillips, performed very well on debut at Ibrox and it will be a case of seeing how he trains at the start of the week before gauging whether to play him in a closed-doors match prior to the visit of Aberdeen on Saturday.
“Danny came into the Rangers game earlier than we expected but I was really pleased with him,” said Davidson.
“He won tackles, got on the ball and tried to drive us forward so he did a lot of good things.
“We will see how he is at the start of this week – how his body is feeling after playing so long for his first game of the season.
“He was due to play in a bounce game but sometimes your opportunity comes earlier and he did himself no harm last weekend.”
Daniel Phillips St Johnstone debut report card – could he be the new Jeando Fuchs?
Conversation