Slobodan Rubezic is dying to play at Hampden next week according to Aberdeen interim boss Peter Leven.
Leven confirmed last week Montenegro international Rubezic was set for a surprise return to the squad for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic on April 20.
With the defender hoping to rejoin his team-mates next week, Leven insists the imposing centre-half is chomping at the bit at the prospect of facing the Hoops.
The Dons interim boss said: “Rubi is dying to play in the semi-final and it is the target for him now.
“He is in and out a little bit now, but he is looking really, really good.
“Rubi is about a week away from full training, full integration.
“It will be a big plus to have him back, but I think Dundee might be a little bit too close.”
Slobodan Rubezic absent for almost three months
The central defender has been absent since suffering a knee injury in the Dons’ 1-1 draw with St Johnstone on January 24.
It was feared Rubezic’s season was over due to the injury, but scans showed he did not require surgery.
Leven has been impressed by the positive attitude and desire to be involved shown by the summer signing, who arrived from Serbian Superliga club FK Novi Pazar.
He said: “His attitude towards football and life is brilliant – he just wants the best.
“Rubi is a good professional as he does extra in the gym and things like that.
“His attitude has been brilliant. He has been in the gym constantly and he is in a good place.
“Rubi is very supportive when he has not been playing.”
Leven focused on improving Aberdeen’s attacking threat this week
Rubezic’s imminent return to the first-team squad will bolster a defence who have kept two clean sheets in the last three matches under Leven.
It was one positive for the interim boss from Saturday’s goalless draw at Livingston, which consigned the Dons to the bottom six of the Premiership this season.
Bojan Miovski’s late goal was ruled out for offside, to the disappointment of the interim manager, who is planning on improving the attacking threat of the team ahead of Saturday’s visit of Dundee.
Leven said: “We didn’t have enough shots on goal.
“I thought we deserved the three points, but we didn’t hit the target as often as I wanted.
“We need to take more shots and have more bodies in the box. I know conditions were not great, but we need to do better.
“We were alright from back to middle, but we didn’t have anything around the edge of their box in terms of getting shots off.
“We never put any real pressure on their goal.
“Bojan had a great chance in the first half, which he should have scored and he knows that, but we didn’t do enough in the final third.
“We showed bravery getting on the ball, but we missed that spark on the edge of the box. It is something we’ll need to work on this week.
“I’ve got to be happy with a clean sheet, though, and I’ll take the positive from that.
“We’ve got to be aiming to win every game and we have a tough game against Dundee next week.”
Leven happy to continue in interim role
With the search for a new manager continuing, Leven is working on a game-by-game basis until an appointment is made.
The interim manager, who is prepared to continue in the role until the end of the campaign if required, is keeping his focus firmly on preparing the players.
He said: “I’ll speak to the club and we’ll see what’s happening. It has been tough, but I’ve enjoyed it.
“It’s a good set of lads and they are buying into what we are trying to do on the training pitch.”
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