Dundee defender Gary Irvine is a major injury concern after hurting his ribs in the 4-1 win over Motherwell.
Irvine stayed on the park long enough to score the Dark Blues’ third goal on Saturday, an opportunistic strike after Well keeper Dan Twardzik had dropped a corner.
However, feeling more and more breathless as play raged on at Dens, Irvine had to admit defeat on 53 minutes as he made way for Willie Dyer as part of a triple substitution that also saw Kevin Thomson and Jim McAlister leave the field.
He is now facing an anxious wait to see if he will be fit enough to face Premiership leaders Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday.
“I can’t recall when I got hurt but it’s my ribs that are the problem,” said Irvine.
“It was affecting my breathing whenever I made any movement so I had to go off.
“I am still not feeling right and will need painkillers so that I can sleep.
“It’s a strange one for me because I am someone who likes to soldier on through injuries.
“This one held me back, though, because it was affecting my breathing so much.”
Despite the pain, Irvine, who also revealed that Thomson had a calf injury and McAlister a stomach problem, was still able to enjoy looking back on his 34th-minute strike.
“When it comes to goals I don’t really know to explain them!” he said.
“It fell to me, I swung my leg at it and it went in.”
Without a league win since November 1 at Kilmarnock and a victory of any kind since ousting the Dons from the Scottish Cup on November 29, it has been a tough month or so for Dundee.
Irvine inssited some of the criticism that has come their way has been deserved, especially considering the 6-2 defeat by Dundee United.
Now, though, he hopes things are on the up.
“I think the fans were entitled to do that (criticise) after the derby result because the embarrassment was there with the scoreline,” he acknowledged.
“I think they were entitled to voice that.
“As long as we can do the right things and get them cheering, which we did against Motherwell, then that’s what matters.
“It was always going to be a tough season and teams are always up for coming to Dens for some reason and they make it hard for you.
“It is a relief to get a win, especially with a scoreline like that.
“It ended up a good one for us, with a few boys – including myself – getting on the scoresheet and the confidence is up.
“We have been looking for that for a few weeks now and hopefully we can build on it now.”