Aberdeen have been dealt a Scottish Cup blow with centre-back Kristers Tobers set to miss the quarter-final against Queen’s Park due to injury.
Latvian international defender Tobers was forced off injured in the first-half of the 2-2 Premiership draw against Dundee United at the weekend.
It was the second successive match an injury affected Tobers, as the 24-year-old was also substituted off early in the 5-1 loss away at Celtic.
Boss Jimmy Thelin confirmed the January transfer window signing is still being assessed by the medical staff at the club.
A £600,000 capture from Swiss club Grasshoppers in the winter window, Tobers has been a regular starter for Thelin.
The Reds boss hopes for more clarity regarding Tobers’ problem next week.
Thelin said: “Kristers is still working with the medical staff and tomorrow is too soon.
“Let’s see for the next week and the next game, but tomorrow would be difficult.
“He just feels something there, like maybe some overload, but let’s see – we have to keep assessing it and working with it.
“Let’s see when he gets better, but that is likely to be next week.”
Meanwhile, defender Jack Milne will return from a 10-week injury absence for the Scottish Cup clash against Queen’s Park.
Striker Sokler returns from injury
Milne has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on an ankle issue in mid-December.
Striker Ester Sokler will also return from long-term injury for the cup clash at Pittodrie against the Championship Spiders.
Sokler has been sidelined since early January with a hamstring problem.
Thelin said: “Ester and Jack are available now to be in the squad.
“It’s great having them back.”
Aberdeen will face Scottish Cup shock troops Queen’s Park with a semi-final slot at Hampden up for grabs.
Call to embrace cup pressure v Queen’s Park
Championship Queen’s Park knocked out Rangers in the previous round with a stunning 1-0 win at Ibrox.
Aberdeen were also run close by the Spiders earlier this season when edging a League Cup last-16 clash 1-0 at Pittodrie.
It took a goal in time added on by Topi Keskinen to secure the narrow win.
Thelin accepts the Dons are red-hot favourites to progress to the semi-finals at the national stadium.
And he has called on his players to thrive under the weight of expectation.
He said: “Queen’s Park have a good manager (Callum Davidson) who has done a good job.
“In how they approached the game against Rangers, they stuck together in defence, but they also have the transitions.
“It is important that we be really sharp and have a good start.
“You can see in the cups, even all over the UK and in Scotland, there are some big results there.
“That’s why it’s so exciting with the cup that you can compete over different divisions.
“I don’t know what Queen’s Park are thinking, but we are ready.”
Aberdeen are bidding to take a step closer to ending the club’s long drought in the Scottish Cup.
The importance of trophy success
It is now 35 years since the Dons last lifted the prestigious trophy in 1990.
Thelin accepts the importance of silverware glory to Aberdeen supporters.
He said: “The cup is important for so many people.
“You have to win and there are no other options. It’s a good pressure.
“We have to be optimistic about the situation, but also be aware of the opponent’s strengths. We have played them before and won in more or less the last shot of the game.
“Cup games are really intense and can come down to small margins.”
Aberdeen had to battle back from a two-goal deficit at half-time to salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United on Sunday.
Thelin has put his side on alert against the danger of starting slowly against lower-league Queen’s Park desperate to shock another top-flight team.
He said: “We have some games this season when we haven’t started in the way we want – against Dundee United we were two down.
“We know that we have these players in the squad that can change the game in the second half .
“However, we need to improve at home this start of the game and that’s what we focus on against Queen’s Park.”
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