Dundee have a genuine injury crisis on their hands as they prepare to face Hearts.
The list of players set to miss Saturday’s trip to Tynecastle is just a few names shorter than the one containing those who will be available.
Kyle Benedictus, Neil McGregor, Lewis Toshney, Stephen O’Donnell, Nicky Riley, Carl Finnegan, Mark Stewart, Kevin McBride and Jamie McCluskey are the first-team men likely to be ruled out.
Boss Barry Smith is left with around a dozen senior players from which to pick a team and substitutes’ bench, meaning he will have to draft in youths.
An away game against the Jam Tarts is a daunting prospect for most teams in the SPL at any time, never mind one coming off the back of a dreadful defeat to Division Three side Queen’s Park in the Scottish Communities League Cup.
Now the selection woes have made a tough task even tougher.
Smith said: ”It’s a horrendous situation. I have never known an injury list like this before. Nine players is almost half my squad, which leaves me with only 12 first-team players and even then some of them are carrying injuries.
”It feels like anything that can go wrong is going wrong but we can’t afford to feel sorry for ourselves. We have just got to roll our sleeves up and get on with it.
”We are not using it as an excuse and I know that the ones who are fit will go out at Tynecastle and give their all.”
Smith challenged his players to do everything possible to make up for the loss to the Spiders at Hampden on Wednesday.
He said: ”The boys just need to show a positive reaction. It will be extremely difficult under the circumstances.”