St Johnstone have made use of Steven MacLean’s absence for this weekend’s clash with Hamilton Accies to get him in peak condition for the Premiership run-in.
The experienced striker doesn’t play on artificial pitches as a result of past knee injuries.
Unless Kilmarnock make it into the top six, Saturday’s trip to Lanarkshire will be the last fixture the former Aberdeen and Rangers man will miss for that reason.
And the Perth club have timed a knee injection for this stage of the campaign, with MacLean set to feel the benefit when Hearts visit McDiarmid Park in a week.
Manager Tommy Wright explained: “We won’t have Steven MacLean this week so we’ve been able to send him for an injection in his knee which he gets a couple of times a year.
“We have used the time he’ll have off wisely, so the timing of this game has been OK for us.
“He will get a week to get over the injection and be back for the Hearts game recharged and re-energised.”
With Chris Kane also absent for the clash with bottom of the table Accies, Graham Cummins is expected to take on extra responsibility up front.
Wright has been impressed by the Irishman’s form of late, with Dundee and Motherwell defenders given a tough afternoon in Saints’ last two matches.
“Graham has been excellent recently,” said Wright. “He’s looking strong and hungry.
“He’s desperate for a goal obviously but he’s played a big role in recent weeks.
“His all-round play has been great, he’s been setting other people up for goals and causing defences problems.”
Hamilton are on a three-game losing streak, and have only won once in their last nine.
Wright is braced for a battle, though.
“Hamilton will be a tough game because they’re fighting for their lives,” he said.
“They have drawn too many games and that will frustrate them because they have conceded a lot of late goals.
“The fact they are bottom of the league doesn’t come into our thinking, they’re at home and they will see it as a chance to get three points.”
