St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has confirmed that Murray Davidson and Chris Millar will miss the Boxing Day clash with Celtic.
Both men picked up injuries at Easter Road on Saturday, but Paddy Cregg will be available after Saints lodged an appeal against his Hibs red card.
Gary Miller could also feature again in midfield, as he did to good effect at the weekend, while Wright name-checked comeback wide man Lee Croft and teenager Scott Brown as players who are in his thoughts for the visit of the Scottish champions.
He explained: “Murray is out with an abdominal injury and Chris Millar has suffered a (groin) strain so he’ll be missing for 10 days. So we’re struggling a bit in midfield, which is sod’s law considering we’ve just let Liam Caddis go on loan.
“He’s with Alloa for 28 days so can’t be recalled, so it’s a chance for other players to step up and show what they’re capable of.
“We’ve been really strong in midfield in terms of numbers so it’s a blow, but Lee Croft is getting fitter, Scott Brown is chapping at the door and Gary Miller was excellent when he went in there.
“But at this time of year, with so many games, it’s something you can do without.”
Saints have more success stories than most to drag out of the memory bank when Neil Lennon’s men come calling, and that’s something Wright will be tapping into.
He said: “We have had good games against Celtic here in the past. We’ve beaten them a couple of times. As always, you need everyone to be at their best and to get a wee bit of luck here and there.
“Last season they could have been five up at half-time but we came back at them in the second half to win 2-1.
“So we know we’re capable of doing it but in order for that to happen every single player needs to be at the top of their game.
“Celtic are 10 points clear and unbeaten in the league so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.
“They will be disappointed in going out of the Champions League but given the players Neil lost they probably did as well as they could have.
“This season they were much better domestically after Europe and that’s why they are so far ahead in the league now compared to last season.
“I’d expect them to win the title even quicker this season. They have just the league and the Scottish Cup to focus on so Neil will be wanting them to do the double.”
Wright is conscious that the teams above them in the Premiership table are pulling away.
He observed: “We have picked up 10 points from the last six games, but have lost to Inverness and Aberdeen in those games.
“We were disappointed with that because there’s a gap appearing between us and fifth place. But we have a lot of games coming up so we can squeeze that gap with the teams above and get away from the clubs below.”
Meanwhile, Wright revealed contract talks are progressing well with some of his players who will be out of contract in the summer.
He noted: “We are hoping to tie up one or two more players in the next week. Things are coming along nicely.
“We don’t want to be in the position of letting people get out of contract in the summer. We want to get our work done early. People enjoy playing here, they know this is a good club and want to be part of that.
“It’s important to hold onto your best players, especially the ones who have proved themselves over a long time. Two year contracts don’t seem a lot to other people but in the past we’ve been doing just one-year.
“So you have to hand it to the chairman because he’s given us his backing in trying to keep as much of the team together as we can.”