Dimitar Mitov has not had his injury problems to seek for Aberdeen this season and could face another spell on the sidelines.
And that isn’t his only problem as Bulgaria manager Ilian Iliev criticised his performance against the Republic of Ireland last night.
Mitov’s side took an early lead in their Nations League clash last night through Marin Petkov, but the Dons shotstopper then conceded to Finn Azaz and former Hibs loanee Matt Doherty.
He would then go off at half-time with a shoulder injury and that could cause Jimmy Thelin to worry about the rest of his season.
Mitov picked up a serious injury in December that kept him out for several weeks.
He returned to the Aberdeen side but was hurt again and has since only played four matches.
To his credit, understudy Ross Doohan performed pretty well in his absence, including a key penalty save against Hearts. But the Bulgarian is the more experienced keeper and clear number one.
Dimitar Mitov criticised by Bulgaria manager as Aberdeen keeper picks up injury
Doohan may now be called into action once more after Mitov was injured on international duty. It’s not yet known how back the knock is and Bulgaria will assess him before facing Ireland again on Sunday.
If missing for an extended period, it will be a blow to Aberdeen as they fight to get back into third place and, at the very least, stay in the top six.
But Iliev had little sympathy for his keeper and blasted him for the goals conceded before coming off.
He told the press post-match: “Dimitar Mitov had shoulder pain and we had to replace him. He conceded two easy goals, which should not be allowed at this level.
“These are two kicked balls. We conceded two absurd goals that ruined our game. We got into their battle mode, which is not our strength.”
Jimmy Thelin on Aberdeen’s race for third
After the recent draw with St Johnstone, the Dons boss admitted improvements are needed.
He said: “Yes, for sure. We know it is tight and now we have an important game against Motherwell after the international break. So we have to win, we know that but today we did not have the quality to take the three points.
“Both teams defended well. It was two teams who fought for the three points and it was quite a close game. We tried but today we didn’t have the quality to play through or create that big chance.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 89 | 20 | 69 | 75 |
| 2 |  RangersRangers | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 28 | 34 | 62 |
| 3 |  HibernianHibernian | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 44 |
| 4 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 38 | 46 | -8 | 43 |
| 5 |  Dundee UtdDundee Utd | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 41 |
| 6 |  Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 43 | 40 | 3 | 39 |
“They defended well and we tried to create more but our team didn’t find the rhythm in the attacking last third. We want to step forward but it isn’t always easy.
“The game became a bit static and we needed that opportunity but they defended well and there is another team on the pitch also. We tried but it wasn’t enough to get three points and I thought the result was fair.”