Dundee will give experienced pair Scott Fraser and Jordan McGhee every opportunity to prove their fitness ahead of the weekend home test against St Johnstone.
The duo remain doubts for the clash of the Tayside rivals – Fraser after limping off at Motherwell last weekend and McGhee returning from a calf injury that has kept him out for the past month.
One has trained this week while the other has been kept back as the Dark Blues prepare to try and build on the 1-0 victory at Fir Park.
Adding to manager Tony Docherty’s thinking will be the games coming after Saturday.
Following hot on the heels of the St Johnstone match is a tough trip to champions Celtic next Wednesday before Kilmarnock are back at Dens Park the following Sunday.
That will be a re-run of the remarkable 3-2 win for the away side just over a fortnight ago.
Then a trip to Aberdeen takes the side into another international break.
Importance of the squad
And the Dens boss admits he’ll be taking care to ensure all his key players are fit throughout this testing period.
“We took Scotty Fraser off at Motherwell feeling his groins a wee bit,” Docherty said.
“He’s still with the medical department just now so we’ll make a decision on him later on in the week.
“Jordan McGhee has been training and again he’s in contention.
“He’ll be considered but we’ll wait until the later stages of the week to decide on that.
“It’s good that we’re getting everybody back because that’s going to be important, now we’ve got four games over the next couple of weeks.
“We have two at home and two away so it will be about the importance of the squad.”
Meanwhile, on loan Charlie Reilly is expected to remain on the sidelines for the next four weeks after picking up a hamstring injury.
His deal at administration-affected Inverness is due to run until January.
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