The chances of Dundee United star striker Johnny Russell facing Celtic have become just that little bit slimmer.
Russell, who raised the spirits of the home fans at Saturday’s league game against Aberdeen by taking part in the warm-up, had hoped to be back to face the Hoops in Sunday’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
Out since February after fracturing his leg against Inverness Caley Thistle, his appearance even on the bench at the national stadium would give the Tangerines a massive psychological boost.
However, United boss Jackie McNamara’s more downbeat assessment of his player’s prospects has raised the possibility of Russell watching from the stand instead.
“We are still waiting on a few players and Johnny is one of them,” said McNamara.
“I would say that, as we stand here now, Johnny’s chances are very slim. I was actually a bit more optimistic on Saturday than I am now because I saw how he took part in the warm-up with the boys.
“He was a wee bit sore yesterday, though, and he has not trained with us yet. It is important for Johnny that, for example, were he to be on the bench on Sunday he would be fit enough to come on.
“It is not fair to the lad to have him there just because it’s Johnny.”