St Johnstone have lost two of their most influential players to long-term injuries, it has emerged.
Tam Scobbie will be sidelined for several months with medial ligament damage to his knee, while Steven MacLean needs an operation on his knee to remove a piece of floating bone and is out for around a month.
The pair have been two of Saints’ best performers so far this season, and manager Tommy Wright didn’t try to disguise his disappointment.
The Perth boss, who kept the injuries a secret until the team lines were announced for the Tayside derby against Dundee, revealed: “Macca felt a problem with his knee in training on Monday and has been to see a specialist and it transpires that there is a piece of bone floating about in the knee which will have to be removed by way of an operation.
“That will take place on Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that it’s just a loose fragment and nothing more and the best case scenario is a four week absence. But we won’t know the true story until the operation has taken place.”
On Scobbie’s lay-off, Wright added: “Tom hurt his knee in training on Thursday and unfortunately it’s medial ligament damage.
“He has had a scan and we could be looking at a matter of months and he may need an operation which would prolong the recovery. However, we won’t be able to determine the length of absence until he gets his follow-up appointment.”
Wright continued: “It’s very disappointing news for both players and the rest of the boys. Both Macca and Scobbs have had tremendous starts to the campaign and contributed a great deal to our good start to the season.
“However, as I always emphasise, it’s about the squad as a whole and others will step in and contribute.”