Injuries will force changes at Ross County for Rangers match after Celtic victory
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After the jubilation of knocking Celtic out of the Betfred Cup, it would be easy for Stuart Kettlewell to ask for the same again this weekend from Ross County.
Unfortunately for him, the option to play the same team is not available after picking up another couple of injuries.
As well as loanee Stephen Kelly being ineligible to face his parent club Rangers on Sunday, Charlie Lakin and Josh Reid picked up issues in Glasgow.
They add to the handful of players who missed the trip to Celtic Park altogether, with Connor Randall and Michael Gardyne being named on the bench but also still working their way back from knocks.
“Of the guys that missed out, it looks unlikely that we’ll have any of them back,” Kettlewell admitted.
“Young Josh Reid picked up a bit of a groin complaint, and Charlie Lakin came off early on with a thigh problem.
“Charlie went for a scan yesterday, so those are a couple of concerns for us.
“We’ll deal with who we’ve got fit and available, the medical staff work as well as they can to get these guys back as soon as possible.
“I need to think about who else comes in and plays, I can’t get caught up on what I can’t influence.”
Across the board, clubs are finding injuries more common this season, but with a particularly gruelling run coming up Kettlewell is even more mindful of fitness levels.
“We haven’t so far, but looking into December we play twice-a-week every week over the next three or four weeks, including the cup game against Livingston,” he added.
“It’s going to be a big ask, it’s going to be really physically demanding.
“We just need to see if we can get some guys back as best we possibly can.
“It was a bit frustrating to see another couple going down at the weekend, but I’m fed up complaining about it, it is what it is.”
