Dundee United are set to send defender Frank van der Struijk for a scan in a bid to get to the bottom of his injury woes.
The Dutchman has been out since mid-November with a calf tear that initially had been expect to clear in a week or so.
Coming up for six weeks on from the problem occurring, though, he is still not ready to return to action.
A couple of weeks ago, United did think he was close but he suffered a reaction when he tried to step up his training and, since then, it’s almost been back to square one for the former Vitesse Arnhem full-back.
Rather than wait any longer, manager Ray McKinnon is now trying to arrange a hospital visit to get to the root of the problem once and for all.
“Frank is going to be out for another two or three weeks, his calf tear isn’t improving,” said the gaffer.
“We are now probably going to get it scanned.
“That’s probably the only downside right now but we want to get to the bottom of it because he was doing well before he got hurt.”
Fellow full-back Lewis Toshney is on course to return to the squad for Saturday’s Championship trip to Dumbarton.
He was suspended for last week’s win over St Mirren that sent United to the top of the league.
Toshney has also been suffering with a foot problem picked up at Stark’s Park.
“He’s still got a badly-bruised toe but he has had the injection we planned last week and that’s helped.
“He’s training and will be OK for Saturday.”
Ray, meanwhile, has emphatically dismissed talk of interest in goalkeeper Cammy Bell from south of the border.
MK Dons and Bristol City are reported to have been watching the 30-year-old, who’s been one of the star men at Tannadice since moving from Rangers in the summer.
“There’s no truth in it, not that I know, he’s not for sale and we won’t lose him.
“Cammy’s been outstanding. The defenders and him have built up such a good relationship.
“He’s been everything we expected and wanted from him. With his experience he’s been outstanding.”
n Tickets for the trip to the Sons this weekend are now sold out.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.