John McGlynn has hailed the return of Ross Matthews following a ‘frustrating’ toe injury.
But the Raith Rovers boss faces a nervous wait regarding the fitness of talismanic attacker Lewis Vaughan.
Matthews completed the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Inverness and, while there is an element of playing through the pain barrier, McGlynn has been assured the midfielder’s condition will not worsen.
It was Matthews’ first appearance of the campaign and, given Brad Spencer could be absent for another five weeks with a fractured foot, his availability was timely.
McGlynn told Courier Sport: “It was a real positive, given we had just lost Brad. It was a boost for us and a boost for Ross, himself.
“He has been frustrated by this injury.
“But he was given the go-ahead to play as long as he could withstand the pain. He has trained on Monday and Tuesday this week and it was all good.
“He’ll really benefit from getting that first 90 minutes of the season under his belt.”
While Matthews hits the comeback trail, Vaughan — with four goals in five appearances this term — was a notable absentee for the trip to the Highlands.
The clinical front-man is suffering from discomfort in his knee and, although it has been indicated to McGlynn that it is not related to Vaughan’s three separate cruciate ligament injuries, Raith are taking no chances.
Vaughan has underwent a scan on the area and Rovers are awaiting the result ahead of Sunday’s televised Premier Sports Cup clash with Aberdeen.
McGlynn added: “We don’t have the results of that back at the moment so there’s not a lot we can say right now.”
