Ross County manager Jim McIntyre is ready to gamble on the fitness of leading scorer Liam Boyce in Sunday’s League Cup semi-final against Celtic.
Boyce has returned to training this week having been sidelined for nearly a month with a broken hand, which he suffered in the 3-2 win against Kilmarnock in December.
Alex Schalk and Brian Graham have recently deputised in the absence of the Northern Irishman, who is County’s leading scorer with 17 goals.
Englishman Craig Curran had also been out with concussion but made his return as a substitute in last weekend’s 2-1 league victory against Motherwell.
Boyce’s lack of recent action is a concern for McIntyre but the Staggies manager is determined to give the 24-year-old every chance of a return at Hampden.
McIntyre said: “He got his cast off on Wednesday and is available to play. It’s healing very well and he will have a temporary cast that he’s allowed to play with, so we’ll see how he is.
“He trained the full session on Wednesday and looked all right. When he’s strapped up he’s not running as freely as he might be but we’ll give him another couple days and then see if we think it’s worth that risk.
“He’s scored 17 in 24 games. Against a side like Celtic, you have to take your chance.
“Having said that, he missed a sitter with his head the last time.
“Of course, he’s worth taking a risk with, though. The other forwards are in decent form as well but I want to see him on the training pitch again.
“The one thing he’s not done is the football movement – his cardiovascular and fitness work is fine but he’s not taken a bang on it yet. It’s important we can see that he can handle that.”
Celtic remain on course for a domestic treble, which they were denied last season when Caley Thistle defeated them 3-2 in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
County have lost both Premiership encounters against the Hoops this season and McIntyre says fortune will have to favour his players if they are to secure a final place.
McIntyre added: “Last season shows what’s possible but we know Celtic are a top side and the expectation is that they have to win every game. The pressure is firmly on them.
“I’ve watched some of those games they’ve lost and luck has been needed for the team that has gone on to win. That’s exactly what we need.
“We have to be at our best and we need certain things to go our way on the day.
“We have to believe we can win the match. In both our games against them this season we’ve created chances but whether it has been good saves from Craig Gordon or poor finishing from us, we have to take those chances on Sunday.”