Dundee have been dealt a major blow with the news Owen Beck has been ruled out for a significant period of time.
The Wales U/21 international has been a revelation on loan from Liverpool this season and has played a huge role in the club’s top-six challenge.
However, he sat out last Wednesday’s home win over Aberdeen after feeling issues with both groin muscles.
However, the injury is more severe than first thought and parent club Liverpool have brought Beck back down south for treatment.
“Owen is looking at a minimum of four to six weeks on the sidelines,” Dundee boss Docherty said.
“We have been monitoring and managing the situation with his groin and he’ll now go for a scan on it.
“With Liverpool being his parent club they have a big input into that and, of course, he’ll get the best of treatment.
“He will go down there for that, certainly for this period because he’s their player and they want to look at it themselves.”
How many matches will he miss?
At this stage of the season, Beck is likely to miss a big chunk of the remaining campaign.
However, luckily for the Welshman there are a couple of breaks coming up that could allow him to recover in time for the final post-split matches.
Four weeks would take us to the week beginning April 15. Six weeks to April 29.
An international break comes this weekend with four subsequent matches to come before the Premiership splits following the clash with Aberdeen on April 13.
So, best-case scenario would see Beck return for all five post-split matches.
Those five games don’t start until the weekend of April 27/28. That’s due to the Scottish Cup semi-finals taking place on April 20 and 21.
So, while it’s a blow, it is unlikely to be the last time Beck is seen in a Dundee shirt.
The final Premiership matches of the regular season take place on May 19.
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