Dundee United duo sent for injury scans as Jim Goodwin guards against ‘anything sinister’

Ross Graham and Vicko Sevelj have been sent for precautionary scans after missing out on Dundee United’s 1-0 victory over Hearts on Sunday.

Graham suffered a slight recurrence of a persistent hamstring issue mere minutes before kick-off at Tynecastle, with fellow Tannadice academy graduate Sam Cleall-Harding performing admirably in his stead.

Sevelj, a strong contender for the Terrors’ player of the year, suffered a slight hip knock in training last week and United boss Jim Goodwin opted not to risk the combative Croatian.

Goodwin remains confident that neither player will miss a sustained run of games – particularly given the two-week hiatus which follows Saturday’s encounter with St Johnstone – but is taking no chances.

“Both guys are going to be getting scans this week,” he confirmed.

“For Ross, it’s a reoccurrence of the hamstring injury that kept him out recently and Vicko’s is an issue at the top of the thigh, into the hip.

“We don’t think they are anything too serious, but we just want to cover all bases and make sure that we do things properly. We want to be absolutely sure that there’s nothing more sinister within those injuries.

“If the guys don’t make this weekend against St Johnstone, I would like to think that they will be back in time for the first game after the split.”

Goodwin: Babunski ‘probably the best’ technically at United

Meanwhile, Goodwin has backed David Babunski to make his mark during the run-in after the classy midfielder was afforded his first appearance since February 26 – and his longest outing since December 29.

Babunski entered the fray alongside Kristijan Trapanovski and Glenn Middleton after an hour at Tynecastle and, while the Terrors struggled to take control of the engine room, the Macedonian playmaker had a couple of bright moments.

“David was very influential at the beginning of the season and no doubt he’ll get minutes between now and the end of the season,” said Goodwin.

“He’ll be frustrated with his lack of game time, but he’s been a very important player for us over the course of the campaign.

“I think all the games of late have been real dogfights and battles; games that are not necessarily suited to the type of game that David enjoys.

“On Sunday, with the extra man that we had, I brought on Crag Sibbald and Babunski on to shore up that midfield area, and to get on the ball and keep possession. I don’t think we got those two on the ball enough – but David is a quality player.

“Technically, he is probably the best player within the group, in terms of what he can do on the ball.”