Gary Bowyer talks Dundee injury crisis as he brands Queen’s Park favourites for Championship title

Dundee may have added an extra body in the loan signing of Motherwell’s Barry Maguire but plenty of injury worries remain.

Manager Gary Bowyer will be giving his walking wounded every possible chance to be fit to face Championship leaders Queen’s Park on Saturday.

The Dens boss said this week this was the worst injury crisis he has had to deal with in his 10-year managerial career.

And, as a result, he and his staff are keeping training to a minimum to avoid adding to the lengthy list of injury problems.

“It’s tough at the moment with injuries,” he told the Courier.

“We have to give everyone as long as possible, like we did on Tuesday night.

“We are barely training for fear of contact injuries.

“In a situation like this as a manager you go through the types of injuries, you look at what you’re doing.

“But every injury we have is a contact injury, which you can’t legislate for.

“So it’s not like we’re training them too hard or flip-flopping between surfaces, none of that.

“It’s contact injuries – Tyler French, Jordan Marshall’s was a bad tackle, Fin Robertson’s was a tackle, Cammy’s was, Shaun Byrne was a knock in training, Ben Williamson the same.

“It is frustrating but at least it’s not from anything we are doing.”

Playing through pain

He added: “There will be one or two who will be playing through the pain.

“That’s a measure of the characters we have in the dressing-room – they don’t want to be missing games.

“They are putting themselves forward and that’s a massive plus with the spirit among the group.

“You find out about people in these circumstances.

“I’ve asked players this week if they can play different positions just to cover ourselves.

“But the spirit and fight among them has been really impressive.”

Any to return?

The list of names mentioned by Bowyer isn’t the full extent of players missing.

Experienced midfielder Paul McGowan remains out with a knee injury while Ian Lawlor has also been missing due to personal reasons.

Cammy Kerr returned from the bench ahead of schedule on Tuesday, replacing the injured Jordan Marshall while Jordan McGhee also shrugged off a knock to play a part against Dunfermline.

Josh Mulligan, meanwhile, will sit out through suspension.

Asked if any players would be back fit and available for the crunch top-of-the-table clash with Queen’s Park, Bowyer replied: “I honestly don’t know.

“Some are doing all right but we just have to give them time.

“Jordan McGhee had a bang on Saturday as well.

“It doesn’t matter what we put out, we know we’ll be competitive.”

Favourites

Bowyer expects a competitive opponent this weekend, too, as the Championship leaders come to town.

Five points currently separate the sides, though Dundee have played a game less.

A draw at Inverness last time out stopped Queen’s Park’s six-game winning streak in the league.

And Bowyer says their current form makes them favourites to lift the title.

“It will be a really tough game,” the Dundee boss said.

“The team they have put together have been together for a long time, I think six or seven of them Ray McKinnon signed which shows how long they’ve been together.

“That was the start of their journey so they have a real core group and some talented footballers.

“We’ve had three good games against them and we know what to expect.

“This window will be important and they have the financial backing to strengthen even further.

“They are top of the table and everybody is chasing them.

“They are favourites for the league.”