Dundee United duo Charlie Mulgrew and Dylan Levitt could bounce back from injury for the New Firm derby with Aberdeen.
Mulgrew was forced to come off a half-time of United’s 5-2 loss to Hearts.
That put paid to his hopes of a late Scotland call-up.
But the influential defender’s injury is not as bad as first feared.
And he is expected to rejoin training ahead of Aberdeen’s visit to Tannadice on November 20th.
United have also been boosted by the news that Levitt is likely to be back in contention for the Dons clash.
Levitt missed the Hearts defeat and has been forced to pull out of the Wales squad for the double header with Belarus and Belgium.
The playmaker was sick with a virus and picked up a minor knee injury on his return.
DIWEDDARIAD CARFAN 🏴
Dylan Levitt and Ben Cabango have withdrawn from the squad due to injury and personal reasons.#TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/o4URV1kSMY
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) November 8, 2021
But the Manchester United loanee is back on the road to recovery.
“Charlie was struggling last week with a muscular problem,” said Dundee United boss Tam Courts.
“But he was in on Monday and it has settled down quickly.
“He will spend this week with the medical team but the feeling is he’ll be able to train next week.
“Dylan Levitt was nursing an injury last week as well and he’s obviously not in the Wales squad.
“He was ill with a virus and then when he came back to train, he had a recurrence of the knee problem he had.
“But the medical staff think it has settled down. He should be back training next week as well.”
Charlie Mulgrew boost, Liam Smith blow
Adrian Sporle is also edging closer to full fitness after not featuring for United since the 1-1 draw at Celtic Park.
He won’t be fit for the Aberdeen game but could come into contention for United for the visit of Celtic on December 5th.
The news is not so positive about Liam Smith.
Smith had hoped to be back in the team for the Aberdeen game after being out since early September.
💬 'You can't come off with any regrets…'
Liam Smith urges Dundee United to grasp the opportunity in their Scottish Cup semi-final showdown with Hibs.
– With @ArnoldClark pic.twitter.com/ihq2i6nd6B
— PLZ Soccer (@PLZSoccer) May 8, 2021
But the wing-back has suffered a minor setback in his recovery.
“Liam Smith is one we will have to keep an eye on,” added Courts. “He is still saying he’s in discomfort.
“We were hoping he’d be back for the Aberdeen game but we will have to see this week whether he can push on and start training.”
