Caley Thistle face the prospect of being without 10 players for Saturday’s vital Championship trip to Arbroath.
Inverness will have on-loan Dundee midfielder Max Anderson suspended for the next two matches, after the club lost their appeal against his red card late in last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Partick Thistle.
Roddy MacGregor remains out with a foot injury, along with long-term absentees Harry Lodovica, Luis Longstaff and Lewis Nicolson.
Defenders Wallace Duffy (calf) and Morgan Boyes (knee) are also struggling, while Alex Samuel has not played since suffering a broken hand.
In addition, Caley Jags manager Duncan Ferguson revealed midfielder Nathan Shaw is touch and go with a calf injury, while on-loan Leeds United defender Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen has a back issue which is causing concern.
Ferguson said: “Nathan Shaw has a calf injury, he had to come off training the other day. We are hoping he is available for Saturday but he has not trained.
“I will give him every chance because he’s a top player for us, and a key player. We will give him every chance to get on the pitch and if it’s not Saturday, we are hoping it will be Tuesday.
“Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen is struggling with a back injury, he had a stress fracture in his back when he was younger and it looks like it has resurfaced a little bit.
“We are not quite sure, he’s going for another CT scan in the next day or two to see how bad it is. But he will not be available for the next couple of games.”
Stakes high at Gayfield
The stakes are high in Angus this weekend, with eighth-placed Inverness currently six points ahead of Arbroath, who occupy bottom spot.
Ferguson, who began his Caley Jags reign with a 3-2 victory at Gayfield in September, expects both sides to be intent on securing a much-needed result.
He added: “Arbroath are underneath us in the league, so it’s going to be a tough one. If we can win the game it pushes us well away from them, so it’s a massive match for us.
“It’s very difficult to go to Arbroath and win a game. We managed to win it in my first match, so hopefully we can do it again.
“There were a lot of goals scored that day, but it’s a difficult place to go. They are fighting for their lives but so are we.
“If Arbroath win it, obviously it brings them much closer to the pack, but if we can win it that would push us further away from them.
“It’s a massive match for both teams.”
Ferguson aiming to stop conceding goals
Following this weekend’s match, Caley Jags are quickly back in action when they take on ninth-placed Dunfermline at Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday.
With four points separating the Highlanders from fifth-placed Ayr United, Ferguson believes stopping the flow of goals against them holds the key to securing a return to winning ways.
Ferguson added: “It’s fair to say it has been an issue. We have conceded six goals in two games, with three against Hibs and three in the last game against Partick.
“We have conceded a lot of goals in the last couple of games so it’s definitely an area we need to be working on, and we have been working on it.
“But we need to stop conceding the goals. We are scoring goals, so if we could keep a clean sheet along the way that would be a positive for us.”
Conversation