Ian Murray to probe why Raith Rovers have picked up so many injuries with several players doubtful

Ian Murray is planning to investigate why his Raith Rovers side has picked up so many injuries across the season.

The Rovers manager inherited four long-term injuries and all but one of those, club captain Ross Matthews, has returned to fitness.

There has been a revolving treatment room door at points at Stark’s Park this season.

This week is one of those and a number of players are trying to prove their fitness before Saturday’s trip to Inverness in the Scottish Championship.

Tom Lang, Liam Dick, Brad Spencer, Scott Brown and Adam Masson will all be assessed ahead of Saturday. Jamie Gullan is still out.

Bad luck?

Asked if there was a reason behind the amount of injuries this season or if it is down to bad luck, Murray said: “I think it’s probably a bit of both.

“We have to look at it over the close season and look at what injuries we’ve had.

“We’ve been very unfortunate, it’s probably a mixture of both.

“Maybe we need to look at it a bit deeper – because if you want to be successful in this league, you need players that are available and ready to play.”

Raith still have an outside chance of reaching the playoffs after Tuesday’s defeat to Hamilton.

To do so they must start with a win against a side they have never beaten over 90 minutes.

Rovers took the lead the last time the sides met in the Highlands but Caley drew level before the break and it finished in a draw.

Raith were ahead twice in the most recent meeting at Stark’s Park against Billy Dodds’ men but lost a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw.

‘A bit like us’

With a potentially thin squad against a resurgent Inverness who have won four of their last five, Murray is aware of the scale of the challenge at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

“It’ll be a really hard game against a really good side who are probably not where they want to be in terms of league position.

“A bit like us this season, they’ve had an incredible amount of injuries.

“I thought at the beginning of the season they’d be right up there.

“Injuries completely curtailed their challenge.

“When you look round the team, you don’t look too further than Billy Mckay who is still absolutely lethal in this league.

“I like the balance that they’ve got and I like the way they play.

“They’ve had a tough season but the injuries they’ve had this season – and we’re not too far behind them, to be honest.”