Dundee defenders should be fit for St Johnstone game

Dundee comeback centre-backs Julen Etxabeguren and James McPake should both be fit for Friday night’s Tayside derby against St Johnstone.

The pair were restored to the Dark Blues team for the weekend clash with Hearts and played an important part in securing a hard-fought point for Paul Hartley’s men.

Both defenders failed to make it through the 90 minutes, sparking fears that their return may have come at a cost.

But the Spaniard reported that his ankle knock was not serious, and manager Hartley revealed that McPake’s substitution was as a result of fatigue from a bug.

Etxabeguren said: “I’m fine. I was just tired and felt my ankle. I’d been out for three or four weeks. I only started back in training this week.”

Meanwhile, Hartley believes Dundee may have a fight on their hands to keep star striker Greg Stewart when the transfer window opens in a few weeks.

“Stewart is special,” he said. “We want to try and hold onto him. We’ll do our best to do that in the January transfer window but it might be difficult.”