Dundee boss Paul Hartley has revealed he has taken advantage of his side’s enforced lay-off to send key midfielder Jim McAlister for a hernia operation.
The Dark Blues have been left without a game since the Ross County fixture on February 28 and will not play again until a week on Monday at home to Aberdeen.
The Dens Park side went up to Dingwall hampered by a lengthy injury list and Hartley had hoped the break would allow that to at least partially clear.
However, he still has several players in the doubtful category ahead of the Dons game while McAlister is definitely out after his surgery.
The manager said: “Jim had a hernia operation last week. He has been playing with it for a while.
“We sent him to the top surgeon down south so hopefully he will be back in a couple of weeks.
“Greg Stewart is still suffering from the knock on his calf he took against Ross County.
“Gary Harkins is also injured and Luka Tankulic is struggling but Gary Irvine is getting better and Iain Davidson is back in after what was a bad ankle injury.
“Hopefully, things will start to clear up in the next couple of weeks.”
Stewart was the victim of a couple of hefty challenges against the Staggies before he was forced to limp off just before half-time.
The striker has been a revelation since joining Dundee in the summer and has scored 14 goals in what is his first season of full-time football.
That scoring record has obviously brought him to the attention of other sides and when Hartley was asked if he believed Stewart was receiving more attention from the opposition, he said: “Possibly. He has done well this season and is a threat.
“So he might be getting a bit extra treatment now that he has not been used to in the past.”
Hartley has been putting his players through their paces at training this week in Dundee but following the Ross County game, he took his squad away for a few days down south for some rest and recuperation.
He said: “We had a few days at Mottram Hall, in Cheshire.
“We did some training and it was a chance to recharge the batteries.
“We also took the players to the Manchester City v Leicester game.
“But we are back and the lads have trained hard this week.”