Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Injury setback for St Johnstone defender Keith Watson

Keith Watson.
Keith Watson.

Keith Watson’s hopes of a first team comeback against Partick Thistle tomorrow have been scuppered by an injury setback.

After nearly two months out with a thigh tear the former Dundee United man was given a run-out in the midweek under-20s game.

Unfortunately, he has picked up another injury caused by a slip, and will probably be out for over a week.

The flip-side of Watson’s absence will be the possible return of fellow summer signing Michael Coulson, and Joe Gormley is also expected to be in the Perth squad at Firhill.

“Keith Watson has had a wee setback,” Wright revealed. “He picked up a strain in the under-20s game.

“It’s the same leg but a different area from the muscle tear which has kept him out. It’s not the same tendon. It’s nothing major but initial reports indicate it will keep him out for seven to 10 days.”

He added: “For the players personally (Watson and Coulson) I wanted them to hit the ground running but as a manager you have to work with the hand you have been dealt.

“Because we have good depth in the squad it has made the early season injuries easier to handle. We have had seven missing already at various stages.

“It hasn’t helped give us continuity and I am probably still searching for my best blend in midfield. We have good choices in there.

“It’s disappointing for Keith but he will get back soon enough.

“He was doing well initially and it has taken longer than we had expected to get over the injury. We had been easing him back. He has taken part in a practice match and he was ready for the under-20s.

“Injuries are part of the game and you just have to deal with it.”

Wright is excited by what Coulson will bring to his side.

“Michael has looked good in training over the last two weeks and got a full 90 minutes in the development game last week,” he said.

“We are seeing how good a player he is. He’s not far away from a start.”

Michael Coulson.
Michael Coulson.

Gormley is unlikely to start against the Jags, as Saints look to put back to back league defeats behind them.

Wright noted: “Joe got 60 minutes the other night, as we had planned.

“I thought he looked good although he probably lacks a bit of match fitness.  He’s not far off and he is in the squad for the weekend.

“Joe had a decent pre-season but not much in the way of competitive football. He is a bit behind our lads who have had nine competitive games under their belts. It’s not a concern. He should be ready to go after another game next week.”

Tam Scobbie and Dave Mackay are still out but Chris Millar and Murray Davidson are both fully fit.

Saints lost all three games against Thistle last season but Wright isn’t reading too much into that recent record.

“Thistle scored three contenders for goal of the season against us,” he pointed out. “They were wonder strikes from outside the box.

“I don’t think there is much between the two teams. Previously we had a good record against Thistle and last year’s results have absolutely no bearing on this game.”

Saints became a side that performed better against top six sides than bottom six ones last year and Wright admitted: “I don’t know why it panned out like that.”

He added: ”I don’t know if players go in with a different mentality. I don’t think so because we prepare the same for facing the top team in the league or the team at the bottom.

“But it doesn’t matter how you get the points. If it happened that way again I would happily take fourth place.”