Allan Johnston believes Ryan Wallace can spearhead Dunfermline’s promotion bid after starting the season with a bang.
The former Hearts player has been plagued with injuries for over a year but East End Park manager Johnston is optimistic the 25-year-old is overcoming his fitness worries.
Wallace has netted in both the Pars’ competitive outings under Johnston, following up a goal in the 4-1 win over Arbroath in the Petrofac Training Cup with another in Saturday’s 5-1 League Cup thrashing of local rivals Cowdenbeath.
It is a far cry from the last two seasons, with the striker having started only one game last term when surgery on a double hernia at the tail end of the previous campaign was followed by a stress fracture in his lower back and a hip injury.
Johnston is hopeful Wallace’s problems are now in the past.
The Pars boss said: “He’s getting there. He’s got a lot of ability, we can see that in training, and we’ve just got to make sure we get him fit and 100% injury-free, and then he can have a successful season.
“To be fair to him, he’s worked really hard and done really well in pre-season, and he’s going to be a big player for us this season.”
