Gothenburg Great Neale Cooper hopes Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes will be given the club’s share of a Champions League windfall to strengthen a squad reeling from a triple midfield injury blow.
Club captain Ryan Jack will be out for several weeks as he requires surgery on the knee injury which forced him to miss Saturday’s 2-1 win against Partick Thistle.
It is a major blow for McInnes’ side, already without Jonny Hayes because of a hamstring injury, while Peter Pawlett is also a fitness doubt for Saturday’s match at Parkhead against champions Celtic.
The Hoops’ qualification for the group stages of the Champions League allows Scottish Premiership clubs to share more than £2million of solidarity payments to leagues with competing clubs, which will mean £200,000 for each club in Scotland’s top flight.
The transfer deadline closes on Wednesday and Cooper hopes the money the Dons receive can be reinvested.
He said: “It is not often Aberdeen benefit from Celtic doing well. That may be money the club didn’t expect to receive so perhaps it could be used to strengthen the squad.
“It is a real shame Ryan is going to be out for a while because he has made a really positive start to the season. He was leading by example and had turned in some really good performances. It is a big blow.
“You never know how long a player will be out for, even if they do require surgery. Players can be back after only a few weeks so hopefully he is not out for long.”
Cooper believes Anthony O’Connor, who has impressed as a central defender, could prove an able deputy for Jack in midfield.
He said: “I really like Anthony and he could step in. He has a great range of passing and he is a strong player.
“I think Aberdeen missed someone like him in midfield last year. But he is excellent at the back.
“My favourite position was centre back but I couldn’t get in for Willie Miller and Alex McLeish and I got turned into a midfielder from there.”
Cooper doesn’t expect the Dons to get it any easier than usual at Parkhead on Saturday following the Hoops’ Champions League exertions.
Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops scraped through 5-4 on aggregate against Hapoel Be’er Sheva after losing 2-0 to the Israeli champions on Tuesday.
Cooper added: “Celtic have a big squad and I don’t buy into the notion they may be tired. I am sure there will be a buzz.”