Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hopes Lewis Ferguson is ready to take his frustrations out on St Mirren after being forced to miss a pivotal week for the Dons.
The midfielder returns to the squad for tomorrow’s trip to face St Mirren in Paisley after being forced to self-isolate after being caught up in the Covid-19 outbreak in the Scotland under-21 squad.
Fellow Scotland under-21 international Connor McLennan also returns but Ross McCrorie won’t be back in time to face the Buddies.
McInnes felt Ferguson’s determination in the middle of the pitch was sorely missed as his side followed up a 4-0 defeat by Rangers and a 1-1 draw at Hamilton Accies with a 2-1 defeat by St Mirren in the Betfred Cup last weekend.
McInnes said: “He was bored. He just wanted to train and play. He’s gone away and had a disappointing result with Scotland under-21s (against Greece) and has wanted to just get back in amongst it. He’s felt absolutely fine and has had to sit back and had a real dose of frustration that he’s not been able to do what he normally does.
“He’s a first pick for me, he plays every game. He’s such an important player. Connor is similar. He’s very disappointed. Both lads have missed their football, we’ve missed them, and it’s great to get them back in.
“The boys have been back in and around the building now for the last few days. They’ve had to sit and kick their heels really. Lewis and Connor had that added frustration of the negative tests and not being able to train and play.
“They’ve made do of a bad situation, a tough situation, by getting the treadmills in and doing their work. The sports scientists have kept in touch with them and spoke to them throughout that. They’re training to play and getting in amongst their team-mates again. It’s good that they’re out of that and can concentrate on what they’re good at.”
McInnes expects McCrorie, who tested positive after returning from international duty, to be back to face Ross County next weekend.
He said: “He’s back in the building now, doing his work. He’s got return to play protocols to get through but just getting him in the building was great.
“Ferguson, McCrorie and Connor are very popular boys among that age group. They’re very vocal and while they’re very professional and very important, they can also be full of carry on, which is important.
“They are popular with their team-mates, so we’ve missed them and to get them all back in the building this week has been good.
“We’re starting to get a few bodies back. Scott Wright and Marley Watkins are still missing, but we’ve got to go now and try to feel better about ourselves. And we have to complete the week by winning the game on Saturday and getting back to winning ways.
“We have a chance to go level with Celtic on Saturday and to stay third in the league, but to do that we are going to have to be vastly improved from last week and do so much better than we did.”