St Johnstone have been dealt an early injury blow, with Andre Raymond ruled out of their Premiership opener against Aberdeen.
Perth boss, Craig Levein, is hopeful that the Trinidad and Tobago international, who has produced a couple of encouraging displays at left-back in the Premier Sports Cup, won’t be on the sidelines for too long, however.
“It looks like Andre could be out for two or three weeks with a hamstring inury,” Levein reported.
“It could have been worse but it’s frustrating because he’s not had a pre-season and we’ve maybe pushed him a little bit too hard.
“I should have probably left him out of one of the games to give him a break, but thankfully it’s nothing serious.
“We will miss him because he’s been brilliant so far.
“His cross for Benji’s goal last weekend was brilliant and that shows a glimpse of what he’s capable of.
“He’s nowhere near fit so there’s so much more to come from him.
“He hadn’t done anything before joining us and when we finally got it over the line, we were ready to start playing games.
“So he’s had a kind of mixed pre-season, not a proper one. But he’ll get fitter as the weeks go on and then we’ll see the best of him.”
Cammy MacPherson’s foot has been scanned.
He hasn’t broken a broken and could make the Aberdeen game.
Good to go
Meanwhile, Levein believes latest signing, Lewis Neilson, is Premiership-ready.
The 21-year-old defender has arrived at McDiarmid Park on a one-year loan deal and has already built up plenty of game-time at the top level, as well as a full season in the Championship with Partick Thistle.
“One of the big things that appeals to me about Lewis is the number of positions he can play,” said Levein.
“He can play as a right centre-back, a right-back, a right-wing back and a central midfielder.
“So there’s real versatility there and that was one of the things I found very attractive.
“Lewis is a good player.
“I remember seeing him in a few European games for Hearts and being impressed at the way he played.
“He’s a big lad, a real unit so he will definitely add to our squad, I have no doubts about that.
“He’s done a pre-season with Hearts and did the running with us this morning, so he looks in great shape.”
Transfer list
Stevie May and Dare Olufunwa are on the transfer list at McDiarmid, with several others available for loan.
“We still have a bit of work needing done and that will involve moving players out as well,” said Levein.
“Stevie May and Dare Olufunwa are available for transfer.
“Bringing Lewis in will limit Dare’s game-time, so we’ll see what interest we can get in him.
“There will also be a number of other players going out on loan – it will just be when we press the trigger on it.
“All the focus was on getting out of the group stages in the cup and we didn’t want to do anything in case we picked up an injury or two.
“But now we’re through, things will start to happen. We’ll address a few things this week.”
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