Dundee United are preparing for an extended spell without star winger Gary Mackay-Steven, who is set to go under the knife today.
The 21-year-old has been playing through the pain barrier recently because of a long-standing knee injury.
However, it was decided after Saturday’s loss at Kilmarnock that the best course of action was to send him for an operation, which will mean Mackay-Steven will be out for more than a month.
United boss Peter Houston said: ”Gary is going in to get his operation. I think it is the best thing to do as he doesn’t have the full range of movement in his leg.
”He will get it tidied up but he will be out for four to six weeks. Gary will obviously be a big loss to us as he is a good player.
”We need to deal with these sorts of things, but I have always said that two or three injuries aren’t the best for us as we work with a small squad.
”However, we have to look at the positives rather than the negatives all the time and, with Gary being out, it is an opportunity for someone else to step in.”
Houston who is also dealing with increased speculation that a host of clubs are interested in striker Johnny Russell has dissected the tape of Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Rugby Park and intended to show the ”video nasty” to his players after Monday’s training session.
However, he insists the team will take the harsh lessons on board to ensure there is no repeat of the error-ridden performance against Killie.
He said: ”We pride ourselves on the way we can retain possession but I sat and watched the first half and picked out a number of clips where we gave the ball away cheaply. It wasn’t the sort of standards that the lads set themselves.
”Once they sit down and watch the DVD, I am sure they will agree with me that we were poor in possession, and in fact poor practically all over the pitch.”
The manager added: “It was a really bad day for us. In the first half we got away with not being all that great as they weren’t very good either. However, they got a start from one of our mistakes and that put their tails up.
”We then lost a second one soon after that. So, when I show them the DVD, hopefully they will learn from it.
”It was a very bad day at the office but I am sure we will get a reaction. They know they made mistakes and hopefully the next match cannot come quickly enough for them.
”It will be a tough Tayside derby but we will look to continue our good form against St Johnstone,” he added.