Aberdeen face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the injuries suffered by Graeme Shinnie and Willo Flood in Wednesday’s League Cup defeat at Hibernian.
Former Caley Thistle defender Shinnie will miss the Dons’ trip to face his former club Caley Thistle at Caledonian Stadium on Saturday after limping off before half-time with a heel injury at Easter Road.
Midfielder Flood was also replaced in the first half after suffering an ankle injury and manager Derek McInnes is hoping the injuries to both players are not serious.
He said: “Willo is not great. He has done his ankle, the same ankle that has caused him problems for a while.
Shinnie has some sort of heel problem and had problems lifting off. It is a bit of a strange one but hopefully it will disappear as quickly as it came.”
McInnes admitted the loss of the players played a part in the Dons’ defeat but insisted their departure was only one factor in the club’s first domestic loss of the campaign.
He said: “We never really had the same balance when Shinnie went off. Also with Jonny Hayes being suspended we did not have a natural left sider to play round about their shape and that did affect us tactically.
“With Willo going off early on we lost two competitors who can help you win games like the one against Hibs.
“What it also did was hinder when making our third sub. We could not make it too early in case the game went to extra time and someone else got injured.
“The enforced changes did not help but we look to other reasons why we have lost the game. It is a reason but not the only reason. One reason was Hibs were good.
“Hibs stuck to their task, they had a shape that frustrated us, they defended well, they kept their crowd interested with some decent play and we wish them well.”