Dundee's injury crisis has deepened after Joe Wright and Charlie Reilly were both hurt in a closed-door friendly against Falkirk last week. The defender and attacker will now be sidelined for weeks, further stretching Steven Pressley's squad.
New signing Wright has a hamstring tear, while Reilly fractured his toe during the bounce game. Pressley confirmed: “From an injury perspective, things are not very good just now.
“We had a pre-arranged bounce game on Thursday against Falkirk. We still need certain players to get up to speed physically.
“Some of the new players that have just come in, it was an opportunity to get them minutes, but we have ended up with a couple of casualties from that game as well.
Wright and Reilly sidelined
“Joe Wright has a bit of a hamstring problem that could keep him out for a number of weeks. Joe has had a scan, so we know the sort of time scale we are facing there.
“Charlie Reilly also fractured his toe and he will be missing for a number of weeks. It looks like he could be out for up to three weeks. He had to come off in the game. It is very like Ash Hay’s injury from last season. He really struggled. The list gets longer.”
Captain Simon Murray and Fin Robertson are out for the season with ACL injuries. Joe Westley has also broken his cheekbone, and Ash Hay is still returning from injury.
Finnigan and Hamilton fitness boost
Ethan Hamilton did not train last week but is expected to be fit for the weekend clash with Motherwell. Pressley is also hoping fellow midfielder Ryan Finnigan will be available after suffering an ankle injury in the defeat to Hearts.
Pressley said: “He was in over the weekend. We got him out on the grass at the start of the week. We are hopeful on Ryan for the weekend.
“He hasn’t been involved in full training since the Hearts game. The next couple of days will give us a better picture or not, if he will make the weekend.”
Pressley praises Finnigan impact
Pressley knows Finnigan has had a major influence on his team already. He stated: “Ryan has been an excellent addition to the group. He has been everything we had hoped and more. In my opinion, there is a lot more to come from him.
“I think he is a great foil for Ethan. He brings great physicality, athleticism and he can also play. There were real high hopes for Ryan at Southampton. He was the one coming through that everybody thought he could break into their team, but it didn’t quite work out for him.
“I also saw him first-hand when he was playing at Walsall with my son, Aaron. We tried to get him last January. We have monitored him since. I am really delighted we got him. The recruitment team worked hard to get this deal done and it is really good business.”
Finnigan came in over the summer from Blackpool and is looking to make his mark on the Premiership. Pressley insisted: “He will very much benefit from playing every week. He was in a good club in Blackpool but I think the attraction of the environment and platform at Dundee to really enhance his career was a big thing.
“He also came up with the thought that he was coming up here to play, that was a really important factor. Sometimes development is over-complicated. Opportunity, trust and playing games are huge factors for players. He certainly has those here and he has flourished in the opening period of the season.”
