Ross County have been boosted by the return of defender Ben Frempah to training, with captain Richard Brittain set to follow suit.
Teenager Frempah has been sidelined since December with an ankle injury, while skipper Brittain has been absent since January after injuring a hamstring.
Frempah returned to full training on Monday and County manager Jim McIntyre also expects Brittain, 31, to be back in the next week.
The news comes as a further boost for the Staggies after midfielder Rocco Quinn came off the bench in last week’s 2-0 Development League defeat by Celtic at Cappielow, having been out since October with a hip injury.
However, McIntyre says there is no rush for the players to return to first-team action.
McIntyre said: “It’ll be a number of weeks before Ben’s in contention. He needs to get his fitness levels right up, which will take a while.
“It’s great to see him back and that big smile of his being about the training ground is great. It’s been a long time coming.
“Richie is doing great, he’s coming along. His timescale is what it said it would be. Hopefully by the end of the week he can join in with some part of the session. We’re probably looking next week onwards before he’s back into full training.
“These are good players and we want them back. We want that healthy competition.
“The squad is healthy at the minute but we want as many options as we possibly can. It’ll be great to have our captain back as well.”
County have won their last four Premiership games to move three points clear of bottom-placed St Mirren, with McIntyre naming the same starting line-up in every match.
McIntyre has enjoyed having such consistency in his selection but has warned his players they face stern competition from others eager to return.
McIntyre added: “It depends on performances and results. But there are a few players who have been in this situation before at the club and they’ll be key.
“There’s no doubt players like continuity. They know if they’re performing well they’ve got an excellent chance of keeping their jersey.
“The boys who aren’t playing know they’ve got to try and do as much as they possibly can to arrest the jersey and get it back.
“It works both ways. When the team’s winning, the boys on the sidelines are desperate to be part of that and you can see that with the players who haven’t been involved.
“The subs come on and are desperate to make an impact. It’s healthy to have that competition.”