St Johnstone are set to be without Andy Considine “for a while”, Perth boss Craig Levein has confirmed.
The former Scotland international injured his ankle midway through the first half of Saints’ 1-0 defeat to Hearts.
He managed to carry on until half-time but didn’t emerge after the break and was replaced by Tony Gallacher.
Levein now fears that Considine could be set for an extended period on the sidelines.
“A player fell on his ankle,” he said.
“He wasn’t able to continue for the second half.
“That was a blow because in the last few games he’s been one of the mainstays of the team.
“Luke (Robinson) did well when he went into that position but having Andy’s experience is good and it looks like we’ll be without that for a while.”
Positives but no points
Levein was happy with his team’s display in defeat at Tynecastle – albeit after being slow out of the traps.
“We did get something out of the game in some regards,” he reflected. “But not the points we were looking for.
“The first 15 minutes was a little bit of a disappointment because we didn’t get going at all.
“After that we had a chance and it settled everyone down.
“From that point we were never out of the game at all.
“We tried to stop Boyce and Shankland getting chances and that was one of the things we did well – apart from the goal they scored.
“We restricted them to very few opportunities but those two are so good at putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Levein added: “Our work-rate was fabulous – midfield in particular.
“We got things out of the match that we were working at on the training ground.
“It’s hard to instil confidence in a team – passing the ball and trying to break the opposition down.
“We did that in spells.
“But I know that it’s all very well coming in here and saying there were a lot of pleasing things.
“Getting points is the only way of moving up the table.”
On his return to Tynecastle as an opposition manager, Levein said: “I was expecting to get a bit of stick but it didn’t really materialise.
“That was a wee bit disappointing!
“I’ll need to have a word with the Hearts fans about that!”
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