St Johnstone midfielder Cammy MacPherson may only be ruled out for a couple of weeks, manager Callum Davidson has revealed.
The deadline day loan signing from St Mirren dislocated his shoulder in a closed-doors match against Brechin last week and there were fears he was set for a long lay-off.
However, scan results have given cause for optimism.
“Cammy is due to see a specialist about his shoulder but we are hoping it may be weeks rather than months out,” said Davidson.
“It doesn’t look to be as bad as first thought so, fingers crossed, we will get good news on it.
“The worry was the ligaments and having to get it pinned.
“So hopefully we will get the news we’re looking for and he could be back in two or three weeks.
“That would be great for him because the last thing you want to do is get injured as soon as you join a new club.
“That’s what happened to me at Blackburn so I know what it’s like.
“You want to get involved with the lads, become a part of it, so hopefully we’ll have him back soon.”
Davidson added: “I’ve watched Cammy throughout his career and he was one I wanted if Ali (McCann) left.
“I am really looking forward to working with him because he’s a young player with a lot of potential.
“He’s slightly different from Ali. He’s probably more of a football player and his range of passing is fantastic.
“I think he can become a top player.”
Efe Ambrose’s right side role
Meanwhile, Davidson went into more detail on where he sees Efe Ambrose fitting into a new-look back three.
“Losing Jason (Kerr), I felt we needed a bit more experience in there,” he said.
“He’s obviously played at a very high level, in the Champions League for Celtic and has over 50 caps for Nigeria.
“He will suit the way we play, he can slot in on the right side of centre-half and is someone who likes to step in. He’s good on the ball and he can defend.
“He’s very fit and I was tempted to throw him in at the weekend but he’d only trained once.
“In the end we didn’t need to because I thought James Brown was superb in there, so that gives us time to get Efe up to speed.
“We have a bounce game arranged for this week so that will help him along.”
Callum Booth has had an injection into his Achilles and should be available for Saturday’s clash with Aberdeen, with Murray Davidson and Glenn Middleton also returning.
Eetu Vertainen made his Saints debut as a late substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Rangers and it will now be a case of building up the Finnish striker’s match fitness.
“Eetu has been desperate to play but when you come to another country it takes time to adapt,” said Davidson.
“With the seven weeks he’s had off, we’ve treated it like a close-season.
“He had a game last week, some minutes against Rangers and he will play in the game we’ve arranged this week.
“We want to get him up to speed because he’s got a goal threat. He’s got something different.”
