Aberdeen were rocked by midfield injuries on Saturday, as three men in the engine room left Pittodrie injured.
Craig Bryson, Funso Ojo and Jon Gallagher all picked up knocks against St Johnstone. Gallagher’s in particular sounds like a nasty one, with the midfielder set for x-rays on his tibia.
Derek McInnes has provided an update on all three of them following Saturday’s draw.
He told the club’s website: “They are both a concern Funso Ojo and Craig Bryson. As well, Jon Gallagher with the challenge with Liam Gordon, which was a fair challenge, he is on the way to hospital.
“We think he has got a problem with his tibia and he is getting it x-rayed. Bryson – it is his other ankle. He came to us (from Derby) with a problem with his ankle, but it wasn’t’ the one he done today. He just landed awkwardly, and he’s felt it jar.
“Ojo felt both hamstrings a bit tight when he went into the challenge, so we will need to see how that settles.
Aberdeen have little midfield cover
This doesn’t sound good at all for McInnes. It looks as if, judging by the nature of the injuries, that he may be without all three next week away against Livingston.
Gallagher’s sounds particularly bad. If it is a broken tibia, that can take roughly four to six months. Gallagher is only on loan until the winter, so McInnes will hope he hasn’t seen the last of him in a red shirt.
Bryson has struggled all summer with his other ankle, so it’ll be a real shame if he has problems with the other now. It’ll be a shame for Aberdeen too, as he has looked very good recently.
Hamstring injuries can be troublesome at the best of times, never mind two at the same time. McInnes will be hoping Ojo was just tiring after turning in another energetic performance.
It leaves Aberdeen very exposed in the middle. Lewis Ferguson and Dean Campbell are the club’s only senior midfielders outwith these three stars, with Stephen Gleeson out in the cold.
He could be drafted back into McInnes’ plans following three potential setbacks.
It’s fair to say McInnes left Pittodrie with an injury headache this weekend.