Logan Chalmers is set for a spell on the sidelines after hurting his ankle against Aberdeen, Dundee United boss Micky Mellon has confirmed.
The 20-year-old attacker left Tannadice on crutches after the Dons draw and now faces at least a couple of weeks out.
The youngster has made a huge impact in his breakthrough season and will be a big miss as United head for Perth to take on St Johnstone on Saturday.
“He’s been for a scan but he’s still on crutches and in a boot,” Mellon said.
“It’s not looking good for Logan at the minute – I don’t have the exact time he’ll be out because we’re waiting on the results.
“He’s not going to be available for the next couple of weeks I’d imagine, I don’t like putting times on things because it’s not fair on the players.
“It’s his ankle. It’s very sore and he’s in a big boot trying to keep him mobilised.”
Mellon also provided an update on kid midfielder Declan Glass, who suffered a knee injury while on loan at Partick Thistle.
The youngster snapped his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and is likely out for the season – it is a situation which has left Mellon gutted.
He continued: “He had an operation on Wednesday and he’s come out of it now.
“He’s in tomorrow getting a boot fitted and then it’ll be about moving forward for him.
“I’m gutted for him but all we can do now is work as hard as we can with him to get him back to where he was when he got injured.
“He’s one of those wee characters anyway. If you’ve got an injury like that you need it and Deco’s got character.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back to the training ground and moving things on as quickly as we can.
“He’s going to be some time before we can get him back on the grass again.
“We’re disappointed but we know we’ll get him back again – he’s that type of character.
“I don’t want to put a big dampener on it but it’s happened and we’ll work hard to get him back in great shape. We think a lot of the kid.”
The Saints game will come too soon for Cameroonian new boy Jeando Fuchs, working back to full fitness after two weeks of precautionary coronavirus quarantine.
However, Mellon is expecting more from Reading loanee and Scotland striker Marc McNulty who is settling in well with the group at St Andrews.
Mellon added: “He’s such a character. He just makes me laugh because he’s brought so much to the club already – he’s infectious.
“He’s one of those guys that will always tell you he’s ready so you’ve got to pull him back but he is ready now, I’m confident in saying that.
“He’s a really good player, an infectious character who loves football and coming in every day to train.
“He has been a really big addition to the group.”
The trip down the A90 to take on Callum Davidson’s men marks the start of the second quarter of Premiership games and Mellon, new to management in the Scottish game, says he’s loving every minute of his experience so far.
And he is now hoping his team can enjoy an upturn in fortunes.
He commented: “I know when people come to Scotland people might say they have just arrived but I’ve been a manager for 600 games.
“I knew enough about Scottish football that I couldn’t come in and say I hadn’t learned enough to get going.
“We had a lot of time to build up to the St Johnstone game on the first day of the season with a lot of good pre-season games.
“What have I learned about the Premiership? I haven’t been surprised by anything. I didn’t underestimate it.
“I knew it would be a really good challenge and a lot of the games would be dead even. I knew it would be difficult against the Old Firm, as everyone has found it over the years.
“I love being back in Scotland and love the challenge of taking this group forward.
“The games are so tight and outside Celtic and Rangers it’s difficult to put a run of wins together. It’s difficult if you get the Old Firm back to back like we did almost.
“Everyone is looking to put a run together but we are all so close. But that’s the aim.
“On the flip side it’s about trying to keep a consistency and getting as high up the table as possible in a very tight league. We’re working hard to try to give us good chances of winning games.
“But every manager will say the same.”