Former Aberdeen youngster Chris Antoniazzi has backed his ex-Dons team-mate Michael Ruth to answer the club’s striker crisis.
Injuries to Curtis Main, Ryan Edmondson and Sam Cosgrove rule them out of the game against St Johnstone, with the latter and Bruce Anderson also in a 14-day isolation period.
Ruth is viewed as somewhat of a raw talent after his move from Queen’s Park last year but enjoyed a fruitful season in Paul Sheerin’s reserve side.
He has trained with the Dons senior side but has yet to make a competitive appearance. His only SPFL experience to date came at the end of the 2018-19 season with the Spiders.
Antoniazzi, who left Pittodrie this summer and signed for Forfar Athletic, believes should be given an opportunity.
He said: “I’m good friends with Michael. He’s a very raw talent but he’s someone who could absolutely go far in the game. He came through the lower leagues with Queen’s Park, played games there and did well in the reserves last year.
“It would be brilliant if he could get his chance. He’s someone for the future definitely. It could work really well, promoting from within. Even playing him and Bruce up front together, I think is something a lot of fans would like to see.
“Two young boys coming through they youth academy and playing up front together. Why not? They’ve both got the quality to play in the Premiership and they just need this chance.
“He’s a fox-in-the-box; anything in the 18-yard box, he finishes. His link up play is good as well and you’re able to bounce things off him. But he’s a number nine, a finisher.
“I think now is the time to throw a young boy in and see how they deal with it. They’ve been training for so long now – it’s more can they be trusted? I think they can. I think you need to pitch them in at the deep end and see how they do.”
Anderson should be available for the re-arranged game against Saints on Thursday, after the end of his isolation. The academy product was one of eight players, including Cosgrove, who were required to self-isolate after an evening out in Aberdeen in which two players contracted Covid-19.
Main has been ruled out since pre-season after undergoing knee surgery, while Cosgrove pulled up during a game against Hibernian and was ruled out for at least 10 weeks.
Manager Derek McInnes’ woes were compounded earlier this week by the news that Edmondson, who signed on from Leeds as striking cover, would join the others on the sidelines. An ankle injury suffered in training rules the 19-year-old out for at least three months and he has returned to Leeds for treatment.