Raith Rovers are sweating over the possibility of a lengthy lay-off for Callum Smith.
The striker was sent for a scan on Monday after sustaining a knee injury during Friday night’s 2-0 victory over Ayr United.
The 24-year-old appeared to fall awkwardly trying to reach a cross from Callum Fordyce just before the interval.
After sliding off the pitch, the former Airdrie player needed treatment while the final minutes of the first-half played out with Rovers down to ten men.
A hobbling Smith was then helped round the pitch during the break before heading inside to the dressing room for further treatment.
Raith should know more on Tuesday or Wednesday as to the extent of the problem.
Speaking after the Ayr victory, manager Neill Collins said: “At this stage, it looks like something that could go either way.”
The loss of Smith for a prolonged period would be a serious blow for Raith.
Already without Lewis Vaughan until around February following hamstring surgery, the Stark’s Park side agreed a short-term deal with former Everton trainee Cody David to bolster their attacking options.
Tough
However, David is short of match fitness. Smith’s absence would leave Collins with only Jack Hamilton as a realistic option for the number nine position.
The injury was the one negative from a rewarding night for Raith against Ayr.
“It’s always tempered with the fact that Callum Smith takes a bad knock,” added Collins. “Straight away you’re just thinking, ‘he’s just played great and now we might need to look at losing him’.
“So that’s one of the tough things.”
Rovers moved up to sixth in the Championship with the victory before dropping one spot to seventh on Saturday afternoon.
On top of last Tuesday’s narrow win at home to Airdrie, confidence has been buoyed for Saturday’s trip to Firhill to face Partick Thistle.
“Back-to-back wins and, for the league table, all of a sudden it looks a lot better.
“I’ve been trying not to look at the table because I’ve been telling myself it’s early days, which it is.
“But it’s good for the players to experience that because everyone said after [Airdrie] we needed momentum.
“The only way to get that is to win again. Hopefully that just frees them up even more.”
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