Jim Goodwin does not expect any of his Dundee United absentees to be in contention to face Motherwell in midweek.
Key defender Ross Graham is still out with a hamstring strain, while Craig Sibbald will be sidelined until 2025 following groin surgery.
Louis Moult – who was among the United fans at Pittodrie on Saturday – and captain Ross Docherty have more opaque recovery timelines as the experienced duo are nursed back to full fitness.
However, boss Goodwin is not counting on their availability at Tannadice on Wednesday.
“Of course, we are limited in terms of the options that we’ve got off the bench,” explained Goodwin.
“The four players that are missing for us are Ross Graham, (Ross) Docherty, our captain, (Craig) Sibbald, Louis Moult – and arguably, all four players would be pushing for a place in the starting 11.
“So, we are a little bit light in numbers at the moment.
“However, every other manager will be in this situation at one point or another. I think we’ve come through it pretty well prior to Saturday.
“It’s not looking likely we’ll have any of the guys back (for the Motherwell game). The squad that we had available at Aberdeen will likely be the squad that we’ll have for the next game – and we’re not going to make any excuses.”
United fans ‘showed their appreciation’ for gutsy show
Goodwin, meanwhile, praised United’s “brilliant” support in the Granite City following a galling late defeat.
The away allocation for the fixture – around 1,000 tickets – was snapped up within an hour of going on sale and, despite being vastly outnumbered at a sold-out Pittodrie, the travelling Arabs made their voices heard.
And they gave the United players a warm reception in the teeming rain despite a maiden Premiership away defeat of the campaign.
“The supporters were brilliant all night and showed their appreciation to the players at the end of the game,” he added.
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