St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson is looking forward to being able to call upon his “natural” holding midfielder, Cammy MacPherson, when the Premiership season resumes next month.
The former St Mirren man has been plagued by injuries since he arrived at McDiarmid Park – the latest being thigh tendon damage sustained early in the campaign against Rangers.
MacPherson was among the Saints players back on the training field at their Preston base on Monday.
And Davidson is hoping to give him plenty of closed-doors game-time over the next three weeks as the Perth squad aim to pick up where they left off after the World Cup break.
“Cammy is stepping things up and is back in full training this week,” said Davidson.
“We have a few games organised before the Ross County match so we will try to get him involved in as many of them as possible.
“It will be great to get him back because he’s a natural defensive central midfielder.
“We have played Melker Hallberg and Ryan McGowan in that position and both have done really well.
“But Cammy is more natural in that role and will add good competition in the middle of the park.”
Dan Phillips ready to kick on
Dan Phillips is another player who will be pushing for first team starts in the near future.
“Dan has been a bit on-off because of his thigh so he’s been getting up to speed,” Davidson reported.
“I watch him in training and can see what level he can get to.
“So getting fully fit and up to speed is important for him and he can really kick on after the break now.”
He added: “Callum Booth is back fit again and Murray Davidson is close to it, so the squad is in a really good place.
“The lads have had a chance to recharge the batteries. They’ve had a good break and have come back ready to go again.”
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