Aberdeen emerged with a 2-1 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road but will be counting the cost of injuries to Sam Cosgrove and Joe Lewis.
Oli Shaw and Andy Considine traded early goals before Cosgrove trudged off, with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Gary Mackay-Steven tucked away a penalty to give the Dons the lead but Lewis was taken off before the break after he collided with the post.
Mackay-Steven missed from the spot in the second half but it did not come back to haunt the Dons, as they leapfrog Kilmarnock into third.
Derek McInnes made two changes from the 4-1 win over Stenhousemuir, with Stevie May and Mackay-Steven into the team for Scott Wright and Niall McGinn.
The Dons were under the cosh early, with Lewis repelling Stevie Mallan’s shot from the edge of the area, but the opener came just a minute later.
Shaw was afforded far too much to carry the ball in from the left flank, with red shirts standing off him and allowing him to shoot from 20 yards and beat Lewis.
The lead lasted just two minutes after a period of frantic goalmouth action. Darren McGregor had blocked a goal-bound strike from Cosgrove and the striker was again there to meet Mackay-Steven’s cross when the ball broke wide. Cosgrove’s header appeared to be headed off the line by David Gray, with Considine stretching to nod in at the second attempt.
Cosgrove lasted little longer, limping off on 19 minutes and will surely be a doubt for Wednesday’s visit of Rangers.
Given that we are now talking of an injury to Cosgrove as a huge blow to Aberdeen’s chances, it is an indicator of how far the 22-year-old has come since the start of the season.
Aberdeen were soon in front however, with Mackay-Steven netting his seventh of the season. Ofir Marciano parried Greg Stewart’s shot and did well to block Stevie May’s rebound, but Mackay-Steven was there to deftly lift the ball across into the far corner.
They held Hibs at arms’ length for much of the half, with a Mallan free-kick that whizzed inches wide four minutes before the break the closest the home side came to a goal.
Much more concerning for the Dons, however, was goalkeeper Lewis apparently colliding with the post in diving for the ball. A stretcher was required for the previously ever-present Englishman, with Tomas Cerny, who had not played since his summer arrival, called from the bench.
Mackay-Steven missed the chance for his second five minutes into the second half, with Marciano denying him superbly from the penalty spot. It came after Don Robertson had blown for Darren McGregor’s foul on Lewis Ferguson.
Both sides traded chances, with Gael Bigirimana and Graeme Shinnie going close at either end, before Florian Kamberi inexplicably headed over from inside the six-yard box.
James Wilson showed flashes of his quality, with a breakaway run on 76 minutes thwarted by Marciano, as Aberdeen sought to stretch their advantage.
The late onslaught never came from the managerless Hibees, who should have been punished further by Wilson in stoppage-time but his effort rolled wide.