Don Cowie expects to have his strongest squad since taking interim charge of Ross County when his side hosts Hibernian on Wednesday.
The Staggies have carried a lengthy injury list since the latter days of previous manager Derek Adams’ short tenure, which has limited the options available for Cowie’s first five games in charge.
An 11-day stretch without a game, since County went down 2-0 to Hibs at Easter Road, has allowed that situation to ease.
The Staggies already welcomed skipper Jack Baldwin back to action for that match – however, he will now be joined in returning by Yan Dhanda, Connor Randall and Simon Murray.
Randall has been out since January due to a groin injury, while Dhanda has missed the last three matches due to a knock.
Murray sat out the defeat in Edinburgh due to illness.
It leaves Will Nightingale, Scott Allardice, Dylan Smith and Ross Callachan as County’s only remaining injury absentees.
Cowie is thrilled to be able to call upon such a wealth of experience for the return visit of Nick Montgomery’s side.
He said: “It’s probably going to be the strongest squad I’ve had at my disposal since I came into the role.
“I’ve got big decisions to make, because we’ve got plenty of options.
“It’s massive, because Jack is the captain of our group.
“Connor is another leader at our club, so to have him back is a massive positive.
“Connor has transitioned into a midfield role this season and done very well, so to have him back as an option is big for us.
“We’ve worked really hard and showed a real togetherness over the last five games, and now it’s about adding a bit of quality to that.
“Now, we’re in a strong place going into Wednesday against Hibs.”
Cowie boosted by return of Ross County’s attacking firepower
The return of Dhanda and Murray will boost Cowie’s attacking options on their return to home action.
In their last two Dingwall outings, Cowie selected a three-pronged attack which saw Murray partner Eamonn Brophy and Jordan White upfront.
Cowie says having a full complement of forwards will present him with difficult decisions.
He added: “In the final third, I think everyone knows how much of a threat Simon Murray is. It was unfortunate he was unwell against Hibs.
“I think everyone knows how good Yan Dhanda is technically, too, so all of a sudden I’ve got plenty of options.
“I don’t think I can fit every one of them in the team, because we have so many good attacking players.
“It’s about the group. I said from the outset that it was going to take everyone getting together to keep us in the league, so we have to find that right balance.
“We have very good options, and it’s now my decision to figure out what is best.”
Staggies looking to put Edinburgh defeat behind them
Hibs have shown much improvement in recent weeks, having bolstered their squad with seven fresh arrivals in January.
Depending on Aberdeen’s result, 11th-placed County could have the opportunity to close the gap on the 10th-placed Dons if they claim a result against their Edinburgh opponents.
Cowie feels his side can take plenty of learnings into the rearranged fixture with Hibs following the sides’ meeting earlier his month.
The Staggies interim boss added: “It’s not often you play the same team twice in consecutive league matches, so it has allowed us to really zoom in on what happened in the last match.
“Hibs have a lot of very good attacking players, they can be a threat, and I thought we were good against them tactically.
“The result just shows how important it is to stay focused for the whole game, because we got punished.
“Because we’re at home, we will have to defend well and also put the onus on them to defend.”
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