Lochaber goalkeeper Calum Macdonald has broken a bone in his wrist and will miss the opening weeks of the season.
The 26-year-old keeper will miss the Spean Bridge club’s first Mowi National Division fixture against Strathglass at Cannich this Saturday.
Lochaber manager Danny Delaney said: “It’s a real blow as Calum is an outstanding shot-stopper, a great communicator and a big presence at the back.
“He had a scan in Inverness on Friday and we await a verdict on how long he’ll be out.
“Fortunately, we have a replacement in Ally Macdonald, who deputised well when Calum missed the 2018 season after a serious back injury in a fall at work.”
Meanwhile, Ben Delaney, the manager’s older brother and the Red and Whites’ most prolific marksman of recent years, has indicated that he will not play this year due to family commitments.
Dylan Borthwick is tipped to be a major goal threat this season for Mowi Premiership champions Kingussie after hitting a hat trick in their 5-2 home friendly win over Glasgow Mid Argyll.
Dylan, son of former goalkeeper Andrew, is 20 and keen to make up for lost time.
Manager John Gibson explained: “Dylan was out of action for two years with a bad knee injury, so he’s been playing catchup.
“He showed up promisingly in the second half of last year’s localised leagues campaign and he’s getting fitter and stronger all the time. This is Dylan’s opportunity as a Premiership first teamer and he could be quite a hit.”
New skipper Savio Genini fired the champs’ other two goals in what Gibson felt was a vital warmup for this Saturday’s Premiership opener against Caberfeidh at The Dell.
“After two postponements, it was a big relief to get a match”, he said.
“We were without players like Ruaridh Anderson, Rory MacKeachan and Fraser Munro and gave seven second team lads some game time. They did well and underlined the squad depth we now have.”
New Mid Argyll boss Allan MacRae was also pleased to get some pre-Premiership action ahead of this weekend’s home game with Oban Camanachd. Oliver MacRae and Ewen Fraser were on target for them.
Oban Camanachd made it 12 goals in two warm-up matches when they thumped Fort William 6-0 at Mossfield.
But former rugby player David Cameron, getting his first team chance this season, came off with a hamstring problem and new manager Gareth Evans admitted: “That could be a problem for us, depending on how severe it proves.”
Daniel MacVicar and Daniel Madej each scored twice to make it four pre-season goals apiece with Lewis MacFarlane slamming a double to give Fort food for thought ahead of their home Premiership opener against Kyles Athletic.
“We looked really sharp and our forwards moved the ball particularly impressively,” said Evans.
“Ross Campbell was missing with Covid but hopefully he’ll be back to face Kyles.”
