Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has confirmed that midfielder Ryan Finnigan is expected to return to full training this week, while striker Ash Hay is set to be involved in Saturday's clash with Falkirk.
Finnigan has been sidelined since limping out of last month's defeat at Hearts with an ankle issue. The injury has settled down, and he is expected to rejoin the squad this week, although the Falkirk match is likely to come too soon.
Positive signs in training
Pressley said: "Some positive signs of late. Joe Wright trained on Saturday and got through the session unscathed. We hope potentially, Ryan Finnigan, might join in full training this week. He is making progress but this would be his first session since the injury."
"There was a lot of bone-bruising and it has been pretty sore. We will see how he is. We may think that the weekend could come too quickly for him, but we will see."
Recent signing Joe Wright is over a hamstring issue and will be involved against Falkirk.
Hay back in contention
Striker Ash Hay will also be in the Dundee squad after recovering from a knee injury. He got minutes in a friendly against Hearts last week.
Pressley admitted: "Ash took part in the game against Hearts and has trained fully. He is good and should be back in the Falkirk game. With us playing with two strikers at present and we would have hoped to have four vying for the places. That has not really materialised, as yet. With Ash coming back that will be the first time, we have more than two. It brings good competition in that area. That is important. Ash is somebody who has built up a lot of trust within the supporters and club within the last year. Having him back is a really positive aspect."
Friendly games prove beneficial
Pressley is still running the rule over a couple of midfield trialists. Dundee played Hearts and Partick Thistle in games that allowed the likes of Brad Halliday and Callum Jones to get up to speed.
"We got a lot out of them in our own way," the Dundee head coach insisted. "We were really pleased with the four 30 minutes against Hearts. It was very beneficial to both teams. It gave us the opportunity to all the players and give the majority of them a minimum of 60 minutes. One or two played less, like Ash with it being his first game. But we got a lot out of that."
"It has been a little frustrating because we were hoping that the three weeks without a game we would be able to bed in a lot of the players and get some of the players up to full fitness. It hasn't been the case in some respects with the injuries. We have still used the time well. We had a strong training week with the games last week. Also some players, like Brad Halliday, who missed a big chunk of pre-season but was starting to get in amongst it. They have benefited greatly. Callum Jones falls into that category and so does Imari (Samuels) even though he played the last couple. There were still a few from pre-season. They have had some good grass and game time."
Wales return expected
Pressley is hoping Bobby Wales returns from international duty unscathed, after scoring again for the Scotland under-21s. He said: "We also have Bobby Wales. He is away with the Scotland under-21s, so hopefully he will come back unscathed. We expect him back in at the end of the week."
Dundee are also looking to start contract talks with some key players whose deals expire in the summer.
