Richard Foster is “flying” in his recovery from a hamstring injury, St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has revealed.
And the experienced full-back could yet return to action this season.
After pulling up at Celtic Park last month it was feared that match could be the former Aberdeen and Rangers defender’s last of the campaign.
But Wright has reported that he is ahead of schedule.
“Richard Foster is flying at the minute,” said the Perth boss. “He certainly won’t be 12 weeks out. But we have to be careful he doesn’t push himself too hard.
“Stefan Scougall is recovering well and should be back in the middle of April after surgery.
“David MacMillan is taking longer than we had hoped. He is extremely frustrated but he is working hard.
“Brian Easton has had the type of injury that can take longer than you hope for.”
Meanwhile, Wright believes keeper Alan Mannus is “playing as well as ever”.
“I’m really pleased with Alan,” he said.
“When we sat down and spoke when I was bringing Zander (Clark) back he understood without agreeing with why he was left out.
“When you have two keepers that close maybe neither gets much leeway in terms of games if they don’t play well.
“Alan’s handling in difficult conditions was excellent at Dundee. He made difficult saves look easy.
“Zander is chomping at the bit to get back in so the competition is really healthy.”
