The time is right to bring Paul Paton and Mark Wilson back into the fold, Dundee United manager Simon Donnelly insisted.
The duo are in the Tangerines’ squad for tonight’s League Cup quarter-final against Hibs, despite the fact that an internal inquiry surrounding a Glasgow city centre incident involving Lukasz Zaluska has yet to be concluded, and that Paton is due to appear in court next month.
Courier Sport understands the pair met on Tuesday with club officials conducting the inquiry.
They didn’t train last week and were not included in the matchday squad for the game in Inverness on Saturday, but according to Donnelly it would be “unfair” to prolong their exile.
He said: “They trained yesterday and will both be in consideration for the game tomorrow, as per usual.
“The inquiry is still ongoing, as far as I know. There’s been no result of that as yet.
“It would be unfair not to consider them for selection for Wednesday. The weekend was a bit different. There had been a lot of media coverage and we thought it was the right thing to do, to take a wee bit of pressure off them.
“I think it was a relief to them to get back to training and focused on their job. That’s what they do best.”
Now that he’s back in the squad, it would be a surprise if Paton didn’t play against Hibs.
His influence on the pitch at Inverness was certainly missed as United put in one of their poorest perfromances of the season.
Wilson though hasn’t been a first team regular this season, and it would be a shock if he was handed a start.