Ross County midfielder Ross Callachan is expected to be sidelined until after the World Cup due to a hamstring injury.
Callachan limped off during the early stages of the Staggies’ 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock on Saturday, after picking up the injury on the artificial Rugby Park surface.
The scans have revealed a hamstring injury, although they are still awaiting news on the severity of it.
County have four Premiership matches within the next fortnight, starting with Sunday’s visit of Hearts to Victoria Park.
The Dingwall side host St Mirren next weekend, before trips to Hibernian and Celtic prior to the winter break.
Even in the best case scenario, County manager Malky Mackay does not expect Callachan to feature before County return from the five-week shutdown at home to St Johnstone on December 17.
Mackay said: “We’ve had it scanned, and we’re waiting on the results.
“It’s a hamstring injury, so I would be amazed if we see him before the game against St Johnstone after the World Cup.
“Depending on whether it’s grade one, two or three, you’re looking at four, eight or 12 weeks.
“George Harmon was back in seven, so it was an eight-week injury.”
Staggies have faced disruption in recent weeks
Yan Dhanda came on for Callachan in the early stages against Killie, before producing an impressive midfield performance.
Canadian Victor Loturi also provides another central midfield option.
The absence of Callachan continues a spell of recent injury disruption for Mackay.
Left-back Ben Purrington is also facing a lengthy absence, after suffering a fracture in his ankle.
His fellow left-back George Harmon has recently recovered from a hamstring issue, while Connor Randall is on his way back from a leg fracture he suffered in August.
Forward Alex Samuel remains sidelined, as he continues his rehabilitation following a cruciate ligament injury.
Mackay insists the Staggies have the squad to cope.
He added: “It’s quite disappointing – all of a sudden we’ve had five guys go out.
“Most of them have been impact or collision injuries – you can go back to Connor Randall, and Ben Purrington has done the exact same thing, so he has to go into a boot for a period of time and then he will naturally heal.
“George and Ross have done their hamstrings, and we’ve had a wee issue with Ben Paton as well which will keep him out for a period of time. He just moved the wrong way in training.
“So all of a sudden we’ve gone from having a relatively healthy looking squad, (and) five have gone down with longer-term injuries. That’s something we’ll have to deal with.”
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