Raith Rovers are expected to be without winger Dan Armstrong for up to two months after a specialist confirmed the extent of his thigh injury.
The former Wolves and Hamilton Accies youngster has been absent since aggravatinng the problem in the 1-1 draw with Falkirk in mid-December and is now set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
The 22-year-old visited an expert in London to seek a second opinion on the issue and the news was not what the Stark’s Park outfit wanted to hear.
Manager John McGlynn said: “Dan’s going to be out for a number of weeks now.
“He has seen a specialist in London.
“He came up with the same diagnosis as the people up here.
“He will need four, six weeks rehabilitation before he can get back into things so we will just need to see how that goes.
“Again, it’s a major blow.”
Raith were without eight players because of suspension, injury or illness for last Saturday’s derby against East Fife but managed to stay top of League One with a stunning 5-3 victory.
With Lewis Vaughan a long-term absentee and others like Steven Anderson and Iain Davidson expected back in the short-term, McGlynn admits former Celtic youngster Michael Miller falls somewhere in between.
McGlynn added: “Hopefully we can get him back in a little while but I’m not going to put a date on it or anything.
“It’s been a frustrating one but it seems to be heading in the right direction now.”