St Johnstone centre half Frazer Wright has been ruled out of tomorrow’s trip to Celtic after being on the receiving end of a team-mate’s right boot at the weekend.
It emerged yesterday that Wright suffered a broken nose and concussion in the bizarre incident during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock when fellow defender Steven Anderson caught him full on the face as he attempted a clearance.
And although all concerned seem to have seen the funny side, it has left Saints boss Tommy Wright a defender short ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Parkhead.
“Frazer is fine now that we’ve managed to remove Ando’s boot from his head,” the manager joked yesterday.
“If that’s what your mate will do to you, then God help us.
“I don’t think he meant it – I’d hope not anyway because they’re pals!
“But it was just typical of the pair of them and how desperate they are to defend everything that comes into the box.
“Looking back at it, Frazer could probably have headed back to Alan Mannus but Ando had other ideas.
“We’re having a laugh and joke about it, and the lads will be giving Ando some stick as usual, but head injuries are serious.
“In all likelihood I would have left Frazer out against Celtic anyway because playing Saturday and then Wednesday is tough.
“But with the concussion you can’t take any chance.
“Tam Scobbie will come back in and he’ll be desperate to play again.
“He’s been unlucky to be left out but I had my reasons against Dundee United and just stuck with Frazer for the Kilmarnock game.
“We have competition for places and that’s healthy.”
Wright cut a frustrated figure after his side squandered a number of chances in Saturday’s stalemate with Killie, but he is now looking upon it as a point gained.
“When the results came in it softened the blow a bit because any point at this stage of the season is decent,” he continued.
“We made a wee bit of ground on Hamilton and Dundee and still have to play them, so we’re still in there.
“It was a game we wouldn’t have deserved to lose but we could have because we gave them too many chances.
“But the defending to block shots was good.
“At the other end we lacked the final ball to get a goal but I’m happy enough with how we’re playing.
“A bit more quality in the final third and we’ll pick up wins.”
The Saints boss was more than an interested spectator at Sunday’s match between Celtic and Aberdeen and admits his team will have to strike the right balance between defending and attacking when they travel to Glasgow’s east end tomorrow night.
“I thought Aberdeen were excellent in the first half but, the thing is, if Celtic are going to score you have to make them work for it,” he added.
“We were very disappointed with the two goals we lost against them recently and Aberdeen will be annoyed at the first one they lost.
“When you play in these games against Celtic you can’t afford to give them the first goal easily because then you have to open up.
“With the quality they have they can open you up.
“If you go gung-ho against them they can slice you apart, so it’s about getting the right balance between being defensive but also offering something in attack.
“We’ll go there, try to stick to our game plan and give them problems at the other end at the same time.
“When you do there it’s about being strong, making the right decisions and concentrating.
“They will have a lot of the ball because they’re at home so you have to be in the right frame of mind when you have possession.”