Drey Wright sustained ankle ligament damage against Celtic and is likely to miss the rest of St Johnstone’s season.
The 29-year-old was helped off the McDiarmid Park pitch by medical staff on Sunday and replaced by Taylor Steven midway through the second half.
Perth boss Simo Valakari revealed Wright is clinging to hope he might be fit to return late in the relegation fight.
However, he admitted ‘it doesn’t look good’ and bemoaned having to go without Wright’s versatility and experience down the stretch.
“Drey doesn’t have a fracture but he’s badly damaged his ankle ligaments,” reported Valakari.
“If he can still play a part this season, it would be a big bonus for us.
“It’s a real blow, Drey has been very good for us this season playing in a lot of different positions.
“First of all, he’s a good player. But he also has a lot of experience and that has been important.
“He’s filled in a lot of gaps and put in a high level of performance.
“But it’s football, we need other people to step up and take that responsibility now.
“It’s a blow for us and a bigger blow for Drey because he’s desperate to help the team.
“He is experienced, he understands this is part of the game at times but, of course, he is disappointed.
“At the same time, he’s not given up on the season yet. He says he is a fast healer so he will be trying to get back.”
Replacement plan
Wright, who missed eight months of last season with an ACL injury, made his 38th appearance of 2024/25 in the shock 1-0 success over Celtic.
Barry Douglas missed out against the champions but is expected to return – and likely replace Wright at left-back – against his former club Dundee United on Saturday.
“Barry is okay, we played a bounce game between ourselves and he played in that,” Valakari added.
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