Nadir Ciftci could miss more than a month of St Johnstone’s basement battle after pulling up with an injury against Dundee.
The Saints striker was chasing a loose ball when he suddenly hit the deck clutching his hamstring in the Perth side’s draw with their relegation rivals.
McDiarmid Park boss Callum Davidson suffered a number of hamstring injuries in his playing career – and he hopes Ciftci doesn’t have to join Shaun Rooney and David Wotherspoon on St Johnstone’s sick list.
“It’s something that doesn’t seem to get any better at the moment with players,” he said.
“Nadir is a big player and that’s what’s happened this season. Hopefully we can get a couple of more faces in the door and we can keep that momentum.”
Asked for an assessment of Ciftci’s condition, Davidson added: “I don’t know. It didn’t look good when he was walking.
“I’ve probably tore my hamstring 12 times in my career and that was about four to six weeks, but that’s just me.
“Fingers crossed it won’t be too long.”
The draw with Dundee gave Saints their first point since November 6.
It kept them two points behind Dundee in 11th place and moved them one closer to Ross County and Livingston in 10th and 11th.
But Davidson, who had words of praise for Callum Hendry, knows the result must be a springboard if his side are to start climbing the table.
He said: “I thought it was a typical, nervy performance from both teams.
“I thought conditions and the pitch didn’t really help. But we asked them for a bit of character, a bit of spirit and an energy level. I thought we got that tonight.
“The last five minutes we were probably a wee bit nervous as a team. We knew where we were.
“I think it’s a start, and that’s all it is. We build on it.
“Callum Hendry has come in tonight and done exactly what we’ve asked him to do. I thought he was really good and he probably had the best chance of the game as well.”
He added: “The crowd could have quite easily turned on us.
“The fans saw the lads try their hardest. St Johnstone fans accept that.
“If you try your best, and trying to do the right things, they always get behind you. We need to keep doing that.”