News: Dundee Left To Sweat Over Injured Duo Thomson And Stewart

[TheDarkBlues]

Dundee are sweating on the fitness of skipper Kevin Thomson and goal-getter Greg Stewart.

The duo were both withdrawn from the field with knocks during the late 2-1 reverse at the hands of high-flying Inverness on Saturday.

Manager Paul Hartley confirmed he is waiting to see if both will be OK to resume full training this week.

Thought to be less serious of the two is former Scotland international Thomson, who was withdrawn midway through the second half with what appeared to be hamstring trouble.

Paul believes cramp may have been at play but further examination is set to take place at the club’s Riverside training base early this week.

Stewart, on the other hand, was taken off after damaging his knee.

The ex-Cowdenbeath striker, who took his tally to the season to eight with Saturday’s opener, suffered the problem shortly after netting.

Despite attempts to continue to play on, he was taken off and replaced by Simon Ferry.

At this stage, Stewart and Thomson are both regarded doubts for this weekend’s trip to Hamilton. However, with assessments of both planned over the coming days, the gaffer is hopeful his key pairing can get the green light for the game with Accies in five days.

Focusing on Thomson, who has only recently got back to full fitness after a long-standing calf problem flared up, the Dens manager said: “We don’t know how he is. We are hoping it’s a bit of cramp. Maybe it might be a bit of a hamstring injury, but we hope it’s not.”

While Thomson, were he to be absent, would be a big miss in the starting XI, he’s maybe not quite as crucial as Stewart. The manager can call upon the services of Kevin McBride and Simon Ferry to fill in at centre midfield but, out on the left, where Stewart has recently been operating, his options are a little more limited.

His withdrawal forced a tactical reshuffle from the Dark Blues bench — and Paul reckons it had a big impact on the result at the weekend. He said: “The injuries upset the rhythm of the play a little. Stewart coming off so early in the game meant we had to adjust it a wee bit but, in football, it is what it is.

“That is the bench that we’ve got, so we have to try and make the most of it.”

Inverness manager John Hughes said: “The substitutes just swung it in our favour. I felt Dundee were the better team in the first half and we were the better team in the second half.

“I didn’t think it was a great game but, when we’re not at our best, we’re still digging out results.”

Source: Evening Telegraph

[JoeCovenant]

Is it just me or do we suffer from more injuries than most other sides?

And if we do... WHY!?

[BCram]

Don't think so Joe. It's just that you know the Dee players so well and don't give a stuff about other teams players when they are out through injury..

[Baldee]

Knee injury for Stewart...  Doubt very much if he will feature on Saturday... especially on the fake pitch.