Dundee have good and bad news on the injury front ahead of a key clash at Livingston on Saturday.
The Dark Blues were missing four important attacking options for Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw with Ross County.
The suspended Josh Mulligan was joined in the stands by injured trio Zach Robinson, Scott Tiffoney and Lyall Cameron.
The good news is Tony Docherty will have three of those to call on for Saturday.
However, one is set for weeks out.
“Good to report that Scott Tiffoney, Zach Robinson and Lyall Cameron are all back in full training,” Tony Docherty said.
“I’m delighted to have those three back to add to the squad.
“Unfortunately the one negative is Josh Mulligan has a hernia. He’ll be out for a wee while, three or four weeks.
“He picked it up and then aggravated it in the second Scotland U/21 game.
“We felt it was best to take action now.
“He’ll be seeing a consultant and there will be an operation but we’re hoping it’ll only be three weeks or so.
“Josh has been doing really well, he was probably one of the best players for Scotland U/21s.
“But it’s been ongoing and it got to the stage where the physios felt it best to get it sorted.”
Sub impact
Having that trio back bolsters Docherty’s options for the Tony Macaroni Arena clash.
Also coming into his thinking are the trio of subs that impressed as Dundee looked for the win against the Staggies on Tuesday.
Mexican striker Diego Pineda made his Premiership debut and looked very bright, testing Ross Laidlaw with a couple of firm efforts while Charlie Reilly did the same in the last attack of the game.
Ryan Howley, too, did well coming on as a wing-back for the closing stages.
“Our subs made an impact against Ross County, in particular Diego Pineda,” Docherty added.
“He was unfortunate not to score.
“I was really impressed with him and Charlie Reilly made an impact and Ryan Howley as well.
“We finished the game strong because of those subs.
“That’s the way it should be – people coming off the bench making an impact.
“The way we started the game and the way we finished the game is what we are looking for.
“It’s just the spells in the middle where we need to improve and learn from.”
Expecting a reaction
Dundee’s task over the coming weeks is to turn their habit of drawing games into a winning one.
The Dark Blues have drawn the last three fixtures, the latter two 0-0.
Finding that finishing touch will be key but Docherty is warning his side they will need to be ready to fight for every ball against Livi this weekend.
“One thing I always know is Davie Martindale’s teams are always really competitive,” he added.
“They’ll be really fired up after a disappointing result and performance at Kilmarnock.
“I expect a reaction from them.
“We know the task ahead, we’ll have to be at our best.
“The pitch plays a certain way but we’ve trained this week on astroturf.
“We’ve had five draws so far, we could have won some of them but also could have lost one or two.
“We could have more points on the board but I’m not one to look back, it’s always about the next game.
“Our destiny is in our hands. It’s ahead of us and now the next challenge is Livingston.”
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