Craig Bryson could be handed his first start of the season against Celtic on Saturday.
The St Johnstone midfielder hasn’t kicked a ball for boss Callum Davidson in a competitive game since May’s Scottish Cup win over Hibs.
He clocked-up 30 appearances last term.
But Bryson picked-up a niggling medial ligament injury in pre-season.
And he suffered a setback pushing to play a role in the Perth club’s Euro ties.
The former Aberdeen and Derby ace featured on the bench in the 3-0 weekend loss to Livingston.
And Davidson hinted the 34-year-old is ready to return to the fray at Celtic Park.
And fellow midfielder Murray Davidson is also back in the frame.
“Craig hasn’t been available to me so far,” said the McDiarmid manager.
“With him, it is about his energy levels.
“If you look back at last season, he started the Scottish Cup final.
“Craig had forced his way into the team and was playing at a really consistent level.
“Murray has been out for the majority of the past month, like Liam Gordon and Cammy MacPherson.
“They are important players for me.
“Results have been good without them in the team but I’m glad they are back and there is real competition for places.
“Sometimes the easiest way to motivate a player is to tell them if you win games you stay in the team.”
‘Big crowds helped me’
After facing Celtic and Rangers behind closed doors last term with mixed results, Davidson admits he’s looking forward to a full house tomorrow.
And the Perth boss believes youngsters like defender James Brown and loan-stars Lars Dendoncker, Reece Devine and Hayden Muller will lap it up.
“It is part and parcel of football and one of the reasons the lads have come up from clubs like Man United, Brighton and Millwall,” said Davidson.
“Celtic Park is a great atmosphere to play in.
“They are up here to experience it. That’s what you want as a player.
“Playing in front of big crowds certainly didn’t affect me when I was playing. If anything, it helped me.
“It is all positive in my eyes.”
Aiming for a solid start
But Davidson admits the game plan will be to try and silence Hoops fans boosted by three wins on the spin after a troubled opening to the campaign.
“We’ll want a solid start,” he said.
“I think when you go to Parkhead that’s the most important thing.
“It’s about how well you start. You try and build the pressure with the supporters.
“So the first 15-20 minutes will be really important.
“We will try and be really stuffy and look to get into the game.”
Davidson insisted last term’s double cup success hadn’t cut his players slack for the disappointing display against Livingston.
“I just think we had too many errors. It was very unlike us.
“Hopefully that’s us got them out of the way in the one game.
“We obviously played right into their hands.
“I’ve watched the game back and I’ve seen things we can do better as a group, not just the defenders but everybody in the team.
“I’ll be letting the players know and we’ll be working hard towards trying to rectify that.
“Performances have been decent apart from the Livingston game during a hard month of fixtures.
“Sometimes it is nice to get back out on the pitch again after a defeat and get it out of the way rather than talk about it.
“We are all looking forward to the game.
“We know it is going to be really tough but we all want to put a shift in.
“We have bodies back. Murray, Craig and Liam Gordon are all back fit, along with Ali Crawford.”
The only player posted missing from Davidson’s squad is defender Shaun Rooney, who suffered an ankle injury against the Lions.
“It is all good apart from Shaun,” he said.
“His ankle is still swollen. We are hoping it is a low sprain which heals a lot quicker.
“Shaun is a young man and he should heal quickly. Hopefully he isn’t out for too long.”
