BY KYLE GUNN
St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin has revealed that midfielder Kyle Magennis is likely to miss the rest of the season after picking up a serious knee injury against Rangers.
The 21-year-old suffered cruciate ligament damage in the 1-0 defeat at Ibrox on Wednesday night and was replaced just seven minutes in.
And Goodwin admits this diagnosis might change his plans for the remainder of the January transfer window.
He said: “As a manager you’re always disappointed to lose a good player from your team, but we’re all gutted for the boy first and foremost because we know what a long road he’s got ahead of him.
READ MORE: Jim Goodwin fears for the worst after Kyle Magennis injury blow
"We got the scan results on Friday morning and he’s got knee ligament damage which is what we feared at the time. You’re always hopeful it won’t be as bad as expected but unfortunately it is.
"We watched it back on the video and it was really innocuous. There’s no blame attached to any Rangers player, it wasn’t a tackle - he just planted his right foot and went to turn and his studs got caught on the turf.
“It’s important we’re there to support him. He’s trying to put a brave face on it at the moment but I know exactly what he’s going through mentally as I’ve been there myself. He’ll get the best surgeon possible and the best rehab. If he needs time away and a bit of sun on his back while he’s recovering then that’s an option.
"I’ve given him the responsibility of the armband at such a young age in Stephen McGinn’s absence and he carries great influence in the dressing room. He leads by example and is a top pro, technically very good, and has a great career ahead of him and it’s a loss for Scotland under-21s as well.
“We were always looking for players but not a central midfielder as we had enough cover in that area but Kyle is a player who has played out of position for me purely because I’ve asked him to do a job and he doesn’t mump or moan.
"I know he’d rather play central but if I ask him to play right or left he gets on with it so we need to find someone with similar qualities who is willing to do a job for the team and we’ve got a week to do it so it won’t be easy.”
Goodwin also provided an update on potential players who could return to the squad in the not too distant future.
The Irishman is boosted by the return of the experienced centre-half Kirk Broadfoot who hasn’t played since the 5-2 defeat against Hearts in November.
Goodwin continued: "We hope Kirk will be back in the squad, he's trained really well the last 10 days.
"Sunday will probably come too soon for Kyle McAllister but we're hoping he'll be back in time for the Hibs game.
"Ilkay Durmus limped off at Ibrox with a bit of bruising on the top of his foot but it's nothing too major. Stephen McGinn will be another three or four weeks and Gary MacKenzie is back running but is still about 10 days away from it.
"The winter break was supposed to give us a bit of a rest to get boys recovered but unfortunately the first league game back we've picked up two injuries."
The Buddies boss also revealed he knows exactly what to expect when Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen visit the Simple Digital Arena tomorrow lunchtime.
He added: "They pose their own problems. You've got the physicality to deal with in their approach with balls up to Sam Cosgrove.
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"Every set play you know it's coming into your box with great height and physicality to deal with so we know we'll have to defend the box better.
"I certainly believe that being the home team we've got to be more offensive in our approach and we will be.
"We gave a really good account of ourselves in the previous two games against them. We beat them at our place and then up at Pittodrie, in the most recent one, we did well. We should have brought a point back down the road but missed the penalty.
"It's live on the tele, the boys are buzzing for it and hopefully Aberdeen are low on confidence. I can't imagine they will be because Derek McInnes is such a good manager and has built such a great squad.
"I'm sure they'll be looking to come down and get all three points here and it's up to us to stop that."
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