Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds explained poor luck has been a main reason for the epic scale of the Championship club’s injury crisis.
Nothing has changed in terms of the training at ICT, but misfortune has seen a range of first-team stars sidelined by various injuries.
The latest was winger Dan MacKay, who is on loan from Hibs, who was carried off with a locked knee in Tuesday’s 1-0 home loss against Hamilton.
MacKay joins to casualty list alongside Scott Allardice, Roddy MacGregor, Austin Samuels, Wallace Duffy and long-term absentees Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh.
Knee lock ended Dan MacKay’s night
And Dodds explained the way several injuries have happened have been out of their control.
He said: “You look at the types of knocks we’ve had. Danny Devine, for example, an Ayr player fell on his knee.
“Dan, the other night, on the ball and his knee locked. Sean Welsh was doing a warm-up in the dressing room and his knee locked.
“These are all injuries where, it doesn’t matter what you do in training or in prehab or with injury prevention, they’re going to happen.
“We’ve just hit a bad run. I’d ask people not to look too much into it because training hasn’t changed since I’ve come here.
“We’ve been lucky with injuries so far (overall). But we’re having a bad run right now.”
Versatility vital with Inverness squad
Inverness, who remain level top with Partick Thistle having played one match more, host Raith Rovers on Saturday.
And Dodds admits the amount of players out of action is a new challenge he’s had to face as a manager.
He said: “I’ve not experienced anything like this. I’ve been with bigger squads (as a player) which are more adjusted to handling injuries.
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“We have got a nice size of squad here, but I didn’t expect so many injuries at the one time.
“We’ve had versatility where you can wangle a few positions and still get the best out of players.
“People say ‘we’re down to the bare bones’ and we really are. We’re down to the last few but we’ll still get a team out there.”
Still more to come from Caley Thistle
Dodds is sure his side can again show why the won five games on the spin, by knuckling down and getting the edge over their opponents.
He said: “I’m still positive going forward because of where we were mentally with our five-game win.
“We just fell short against Hamilton. I wished we’d got the first goal. We’ve seen in close games where we’ve got in, like against Ayr United, Partick Thistle and Cove Rangers, we’ve ground it out. I felt we could have done that on Tuesday.
“Yes, we can play better but I would like my full quota of players back as well.
“There is another level to come from us yet. These are the hard times and we have to dig in to get a win.”
Extra caution amid injury crisis
Extra caution has been taken in the build-up to the weekend, ensuring no further damage, according to the Inverness manager.
Dodds said: “We’d be wrapping the boys up in cotton wool anyway with three games in a week, but we especially have to look at it because of the amount of injuries we’ve got.
“We can’t afford for anyone else to get injured, so we are watching what we’re doing.
“We have to get a team out there that can get the right result, and I hope that gets us through Saturday.”
Dodds ‘wary’ of 22-year ICT record
Inverness, who won 2-0 away to Raith in September, have not lost a league game against the Fifers since September 2000, that was 23 fixtures ago.
The Fifers are seventh following their 1-0 victory at Arbroath on Wednesday, but are just five points away from the leading Thistles.
Dodds reckons, even with numbers low, he’s got enough quality to hand to extend their record against the visitors this weekend.
He added: “There are a couple (of players) improving. I just don’t know if Saturday is coming too quickly.
“I just wish the game wasn’t as quick as it was, but we move on to Saturday now.
“We know what our record is against Raith, but I’m wary of that.
“They’re a good team, and they’re getting results on the board. Are we capable of beating them? Absolutely, even if we’re missing a few.
“I want everybody to rally together, I want the fans to get behind the players as usual, because this is a time of need.
“It’s time to grind out another result, which would be fantastic.”
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