Caley Thistle will make the Championship trip to Dundee tomorrow without sidelined trio Brad Mckay, Charlie Trafford and Sean Welsh.
Defender Mckay has been sidelined since suffering a back injury in Caley Jags’ opening day 4-1 loss to Dundee United on August 3, while Canadian midfielder Trafford has a knee problem.
The pair will miss tomorrow’s trip to Dens Park along with Welsh, who has recently recovered from a broken metatarsal, however manager John Robertson is hopeful all three will soon be back in the fold.
Robertson said: “Brad Mckay, we’ve found after a scan, has a cracked vertebrae in his back, so he might be out for a few weeks.
“Sean Welsh is probably not quite ready to be involved in the squad, while Charlie Trafford picked up a knee knock as well, so those three won’t be involved on Saturday.
“But they all should be available sooner rather than later.”
Welsh played his first action since March in Tuesday’s 3-1 North of Scotland Cup victory over Forres Mechanics, however Robertson insists he is still short of being fit enough to feature in first team games, meaning he will not be risked against the Dark Blues.
Robertson added: “For Sean, 90 minutes against Forres Mechanics was good but he needs games.
“We were looking at how long we would push him and he was comfortable enough, so we got the full 90 minutes out of him.
“He’s a bit sore and stiff so we will look again next week at getting some more training into him before another North of Scotland Cup game against Clach.
“Once he’s had a couple of games, he’ll be re-introduced into the first team squad.”
Teenage attacker Daniel MacKay, who is on loan with Elgin City, has been handed a boost after fears he had suffered a broken ankle in the Black and Whites’ 1-0 loss to Stenhousemuir last week proved to be unfounded.
Scans have revealed MacKay has suffered ankle ligament damage and Robertson hopes the 18-year-old, who has played three matches since joining the League 2 side earlier this month, can pick up from where he left off once he regains his fitness.
Robertson added: “Daniel went on loan to play matches and picked up an injury, but thankfully it isn’t as bad as first feared.
“He is on the mend. He’ll be out for a few weeks, but he will continue to be on loan with Elgin.
“It was just a freak one – he went for a header and, as he landed, the ball broke into that area, and an opponent slid in and caught his standing foot.
“We’re waiting for the secondary scan, but it would appear to be ankle ligament damage.
“We won’t know the exact timescale until the scan results come through, but it is great news.
“He had started well, scoring in midweek. Elgin were delighted with him.
“It was a bitter blow for us and the player, but he’ll be back in the not too distant future.”