Dundee may line up at Falkirk without a recognised striker in their ranks, after Sean Higgins was ruled out for the season following a knee operation yesterday.
With young forward Leighton McIntosh also going under the knife earlier this week, beleaguered Dens Park boss Barry Smith was in a race against time last night to find trialists to bolster his ravaged ranks against the Bairns.
Dundee, who are on a record-breaking 20-game unbeaten run, were already down to the bare bones after Neil McCann played his final game as a trialist against Queen of the South last Saturday and Jonathan Stewart returned to Hearts after his loan spell came to an end.
Lochee United’s Craig Robertson has one more game to play as a trialist for the Dark Blues but his club are involved in a vital cup-tie today and he will be turning out for the Bluebells.
Smith said, “We received confirmation on Thursday that Sean needed an operation and he is out for the season.
“Higgy has probably been carrying the injury for a couple of weeks and never really said anything so that is just the measure of him.
“He will be gutted as he has done really well and is proud to be part of the team.
“He is a big loss and not just for his workrate. He has scored a lot of important goals for us and, of course, it leaves us without any strikers as Leighton had an operation on his hand on Wednesday and is out for the foreseeable future.
“Craig Robertson will play his last game as a trialist for us on Tuesday against Dunfermline.
“His club Lochee United have a big cup-tie this weekend and they are quite rightly keeping him for that,” added Smith, who also denied that former Dundee favourite James Grady would be pulling on a dark blue jersey against Falkirk.’Run through walls’Meanwhile, present-day Dundee midfielder Stephen O’Donnell is not seeking any sympathy as the Dark Blues try to get by on a skeleton staff.
However, O’Donnell has brushed off any notion that they are feeling sorry for themselves.
He said, “It has been remarkable how we have steered clear of injuries up to now, to be honest.
“That just shows you that, when you have a cause, people go that extra bit to get out on to the park.
“We have had people playing while carrying knocks. Wee Higgy has been doing that and he will be a big miss for us.”
He added, “Nobody is going to feel sorry for us so there is no point us feeling sorry for ourselves.
“What we can do is work with what we have and that’s a squad of players who are willing to run through walls for each other.”
The Dark Blues can, of course, take their unbeaten record to 21 by avoiding defeat at the Falkirk Stadium but O’Donnell stressed that escaping relegation remains their priority.
He said, “I think it will be a very difficult game because it is a hard place to go to.
“They still believe they can go on and win the league so will be right up for it.
“If we match them for desire and workrate then hopefully our football will come through and we will get a good result.
“It is a blessing that we went on the run and have picked up so many points because we are beginning to feel the effects of it (administration) now.
“By no means are we going to chuck it now because we know we have achieved nothing yet.”
He added, “We may have broken the record but we are still not safe and that’s what we need to focus on.
“We have three games in the space of a week, starting at Falkirk, but we have come through so much and hope we can get the results we need in order to ensure we stay up.”