Caley Thistle captain Richie Foran is optimistic he will be back in contention within the next fortnight following a knee injury.
Foran was out injured for 16 month, including the whole of last season, due to a knee injury which needed two operations.
The Irishman returned to make substitute appearances in both legs of Caley Jags’ Europa League second qualifying round tie against Romanian side FC Astra last month, which John Hughes’ side lost 1-0 on aggregate.
Foran has not featured since, but the 35-year-old insisted his latest spell on the sidelines was not significant.
Foran said: “It’s been disappointing. It was a little setback with a knee again, a ligament strain which has knocked me back a couple of weeks, but it’s nothing serious or major.
“I’ll hopefully be back in a week or two at the latest.”
Foran is one of several players to have been sidelined in recent weeks, and missed Saturday’s 4-2 defeat against Celtic along with Gary Warren, Josh Meekings, Dean Brill, Aaron Doran, James Vincent and Jordan Roberts.
The former Motherwell player has called on others to make the most of their opportunity, adding: “We don’t want to be crying too much about injuries. Every team gets them.
“We were very lucky last year. We only had a couple of serious ones, and that was me and Dean Brill.
“It’s our time now to get the injuries like every other club does, so we’re not going to cry too much.
“It gives other players the chance to come in and impress the manager, and prove to him they’re good enough to start every week.
“It’s a loss for players who are injured, it’s disappointing for them. But it’s a gain for those who haven’t been playing. They get to start games now, and show the manager what they’re capable of.
“We can’t really be judged until we get our full squad back.
“It’s not the end of the world. We want to win every game but it’s still early days.
“I’ve seen enough in us to know we’re going to improve. I’ve seen enough on the training ground, and we’re getting a couple of players back now, so it’s onwards and upwards.”