Marley Watkins’ Aberdeen future may be in doubt after the forward was ruled out for at least eight weeks.
Watkins is on loan from English Championship side Bristol City but the hamstring injury suffered in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic could keep him out for the next two months.
However, in more positive news, Jonny Hayes looks like missing only the next three games. Hayes suffered a freak groin injury at training the day before the Celtic game and had been due to go for a scan earlier this week.
Former Caley Thistle man Watkins has scored twice in 12 games for the Dons and has featured regularly since joining from the Robins.
However, with his loan deal up in January, it remains to be seen how many more times he will turn out for the Dons.
Manager Derek McInnes said: “It is not great. Marley has a significant tear as well as the damage on his hamstring. He will probably be out for between eight to 10 weeks.
“That is a real blow for us. We will liaise with Bristol and formulate a plan over the next week or so.
“Marley was a player who against the majority of opposition could play up front alongside Sam Cosgrove or another. Unfortunately we will not get to see that for the foreseeable future.
“It is a blow for us as I have really enjoyed having Marley with us and he has been very influential in the team.
Watkins went off late in the game after a collision with Celtic captain Scott Brown, in which he suffered a cut to the face but also a hamstring injury.
Hayes’ omission from the Scottish Cup squad came as a shock as the Dons had been preparing for him to be part of the side to face Celtic.
His place for the game was taken by Matty Kennedy, who made his first start for Aberdeen since September.
McInnes added: “Jonny is probably not as bad as initially feared although he will probably still be out for the next two to three weeks. Thankfully it is not a big a tear or issue as Dylan McGeouch’s tear.
“Hopefully Jonny will be back for the game on the 28th November, the League Cup tie game. We didn’t want to go into a game of Sunday’s magnitude without Jonny.
“He will probably miss Hibs, Rangers and Hamilton and hopefully back for the following game.”
- Aberdeen’s Scottish Premiership game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park will take place on Sunday December 20, with the noon kick-off screened live by Sky Sports.