Dundee United were left sweating over the extent of John Souttar’s ankle injury after the young defender was carried from the field in agony during the first friendly of their Dutch training camp.
The 17-year-old suffered the damage after embarking on a rampaging run forward from defence. A strong block tackle halted him forcefully, with Souttar crashing to the turf clutching his ankle.
Speaking immediately after the match, manager Jackie McNamara was hopeful the injury may not be as bad as first feared, but it will only become apparent over the weekend whether any ligament damage was sustained.
The game itself was far less dramatic, with a double from the rampant Aidan Connolly inspiring the visitors to a comfortable win. Brian Graham also got his name on the scoresheet as well as hitting the post during a lively display.
Stuart Armstrong, Nadir Ciftci and a Efe Redeker own goal saw United hit their hosts for six in the Winterswijk sunshine.
There is little doubt United’s trip to Holland will provide their most stringent test of pre-season, with FC Utrecht on Sunday and NAC Breda on Tuesday likely to provide a decent gauge of their readiness for the coming campaign.
This encounter, however, was nothing more than a routine workout, and in far more modest surroundings than Utrecht’s near-25,000 capacity Stadion Galgenwaard they will visit this weekend.
While the Sportpark Jaspers is equipped with a state-of-the-art synthetic surface and boasts a fine modern set-up, its small stature reflects the size of FC Winterswijk, a club from the fifth tier of Dutch football.
Connolly, playing as part of a fluid three-man attacking midfield behind captain-for-the-day Graham, particularly tormented the amateurs. Indeed, it took just six minutes for the waspish winger to open the scoring.
Some neat work from Chris Erskine allowed Connolly to dart into the penalty box and, after dancing past a couple of flimsy challenges, he rounded the goalkeeper and rolled into an empty net.
With the visitors constantly in the ascendancy, Graham struck the post with a low drive from 18 yards.
While the opposition may not have provided the most stern of challenges, the conditions were certainly ensuring a sweltering summer workout for the Tangerines.
With the mercury touching the mid-30s at pitch-side, both teams were forced into one of the drinks breaks which became common sight at the World Cup in Brazil.
Suitably refreshed, United extended their lead on 36 minutes. Once again, Connolly was pivotal, slicing through the Winterswijk defence with a mazy run before sliding the perfect pass through to Graham. The striker made no mistake with his curling finish from the edge of the box.
McNamara resisted the temptation to make a swathe of half-time replacements, and it paid immediate dividends as Connolly picked up where he left off.
He latched on to a defence-splitting pass from the excellent Scott Fraser and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.
However, an easy win was immediately clouded in concern when Souttar crashed to the turf. He was taken off on a stretcher to be replaced by Sean Dillon.
Armstrong got in on the act with a neat close-range finish before Citftci made it 5-0 with a curling effort from 18 yards.
Andy Robertson cast aside persistent questions about his future to set up the final goal of the match, fizzing in a low cross which was knocked into his own net by Winterswijk defender Redeker.