St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has hailed comeback man Murray Davidson’s “incredible” performance against Inverness at the weekend.
The midfielder made an earlier than expected return to the first-team on Saturday after recovering from what was first feared to be a season-ending knee injury suffered during his side’s Europa League tie against Alashkert in Armenia.
His manager thought he would have to take him off before the end of the ICT game, instead Davidson got stronger as the match went on and he played the full 90 minutes.
Wright said: “Murray came through without any reaction. His performance was incredible. He is a naturally-fit lad so we thought we’d maybe get 70 minutes out of him but he got stronger and stronger.
“His energy levels were frightening and he was flying into challenges.
“He has defied all the odds in getting back just six weeks after the scan on his knee.
“Murray has had some bad luck with injuries and has missed a lot of games but he was back to the form he showed in my first two seasons here.
I couldn’t change him and I wouldn’t want to.
“He is a natural competitor and an important player for us. He provides us with a spark and he will be influential if he stays fit.”
Tonight’s game will come too soon for skipper Dave Mackay and Chris Millar as they work their way back following injury.
However, Wright admitted that striker Graham Cummins, who came off the bench to net Saints’ equaliser against Inverness, has given him food for thought.
The manager said: “Graham is knocking on the door. He has done well in pre-season and it is good we have competition for places. Graham and John (Sutton) have put themselves in a good position with their goals.
“I have liked Graham’s movement. I knew about him for a while. He had a great goalscoring record at Cork and he will score goals here.
“Ultimately strikers are judged on goals and he has caught the eye. But his general all-round play and movement in training indicates he will score goals in this league.”
Wright admitted he is a big admirer of the work done by fellow boss Jim McIntyre and his assistant Billy Dodds since they took over in Dingwall last season.
He added: “I have been really impressed with the job Jim and Billy have done at Ross County. It has been unbelievable. They will be the first to admit their chairman backed them in the window last season and again over the summer.
“It was important to get their own players in. Fair enough the finances were there but they had the hard job of identifying the players. They have recruited well and they will probably feel they can be a top six side, as will quite a few teams this season.
“I have nothing but admiration for the work they have done up there. This is going to be a difficult game but it is one we are looking forward to.
“It’s nice to see some of their players saying they want to emulate what St Johnstone have done.
“Clubs are looking at us and saying ‘if St Johnstone can do it, we can do it’. We take that as a huge compliment.”