Iain Vigurs has backed his long-time team-mate Ross Draper to return to Cove Rangers in January and help their season.
Draper has joined League Two side Elgin City on loan until January, after a knee injury hampered his early career at the Balmoral Stadium.
The pair joined Cove in the summer on three-year deals having been released by Ross County. Vigurs has been a regular in the side but Draper has not played since the League One opener against Falkirk on July 31.
He spoke last week about his need to play games on grass as part of his recovery and Vigurs, who has played with him at three clubs, hopes Cove get to see the best of him.
He said: “Hopefully he gets back fit and playing again. He’s been very unfortunate and this is just about him going out and getting games.
“Hopefully he can do that and come back in January and make a difference in our squad.
“I’ve played with Drapes the last six years, so I know exactly how good he is. When he’s fit he’s brilliant to have in the middle of the park, or at the back. Wherever you play him he makes a difference.”
Another old colleague Vigurs has been reunited with at Cove is Rory McAllister, with the pair coming through the ranks together at Caley Thistle.
McAllister’s brace in the SPFL Trust Trophy win over Albion Rovers last weekend took his tally to 11 for the season in all competitions and the 34-year-old is joint-top scorer in League One with nine goals.
Vigurs added: “He’s done it since I first met him. He’s always been able to find the net. We need to keep providing him with service and he knows where the goal is.
“He just keeps scoring and that’s what you want from your strikers. We need to be the ones to provide him with chances and he needs to be on the end of them tucking them away, which he does.”
Cove are back in league business on Saturday and are chasing their fifth straight win, with a visit to basement side East Fife.
Vigurs has been an ever-present in League One so far and has not missed a minute. His only absences have come in the two SPFL Trust Trophy games.
He added: “I haven’t been playing as well as I want to but that’s more about going part-time, not having the fitness levels I usually have.
“The last month or so has been going well results-wise. We’re at the right end of the table and the boys are doing well in the cups.
“What we really needed was to get everyone back fit. We just couldn’t seem to get a squad for more than one game. But now you can see that.
“Once we were strong in that sense, having a bit of depth, the results would come. I still don’t think we’re playing at our best but we’re definitely going in the right direction.”