Jim McIntyre expects to be without Arbroath defender Ricky Little for at least a couple of weeks.
The Smokies stalwart lasted just 19 minutes in his first start since returning from injury and the extent of the damage to his ankle should become clearer in the coming days.
It leaves the new Arbroath manager with a selection ahead of a quick turnaround as his side host Raith Rovers at Gayfield Park on Wednesday night.
“In Ricky Little we’ve lost another player,” said McIntyre. “We only have four natural defenders at the club, that’s going to test us big-time now we’ve only got three.
“We’ve not got our troubles to seek on that point, there’s not much we can do until the window.
“Ricky is getting assessed, his ankle is pretty swollen. He’ll be out, I’d imagine, for a few weeks at least. Until we get reports back, we really don’t know a time frame.”
Jim McIntyre on ‘brutal’ Arbroath conditions
Without the experienced defender, Arbroath went on to lose 2-1 to bottom-placed Morton in a game that had little quality in testing conditions. – and the Arbroath boss pointed to the fine margins that decided the game.
David Gold equalised by finishing off an excellent move around the hour mark to cancel out Lewis McGrattan’s clinical opener, seconds after a gilt-edged chance for Jay Bird.
The game was won when George Oakley applied a quality finish following a long throw into the box.
“I thought it was quite an even match,” added McIntyre. “The conditions were pretty brutal for both sides, trying to play percentages in those conditions is difficult.
“The application and attitude were really good. We made two really good chances in the first half, we don’t take them and they took theirs.
“That was the story of the first half, we were disappointed to go in 1-0 down.
“We had a great chance from the corner, big [Aaron Steele] has got to score there. Jay Bird has also been very clever to get into a great area, that’s got to end up in the back of the net.
“But I was pleased with what they were trying to do in really trying conditions. It’s just disappointing that we haven’t picked up a point.
“We scored a really good goal, trying to move it into feet. We needed to be more clinical with the other ones to give us a chance of winning the game.
“Small details have lost us the game. I’ve had only one training session with the lads since I came in.
“I’ve got a really honest group of players who try to do the right things. They need to get used to me, I need to get used to them.”
Conversation