KO’d Little going to be a big miss

TAM O’BRIEN is gutted Arbroath will be without Ricky Little for the crucial trip to Firhill after the battling defender suffered a sickening head knock against Raith.

Little has racked up close to 300 appearances for Dick Campbell’s side since signing from Queen’s Park in 2013 and has been a key player in the club’s rise from League Two to the upper reaches of the Championship.

O’Brien said: “Ricky wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s a big player for us. He took a bad knock and was suffering from concussion so it was absolutely the right decision to take him off to be seen by the doc. I

“I’m not sure how these things work but I guess he’ll be out for a week or two, so he’ll be a big miss.”

Little, a terrier in defence and a constant threat when venturing forward, came within inches of giving the

ARBROATH...0 RAITH .............

Lichties an early lead, stabbing an 18-yarder inches past Jamie MacDonald’s left-hand post.

But during another assault on the Rovers goal he collapsed to the floor following a clash of heads with Christophe Berra, who also felt the impact.

The Arbroath man seemed to recover but was disorientated and refused to leave the field.

He was eventually taken off only to return for a few minutes before finally succumbing to the blow.

Rovers could have gone top had they won but John McGynn’s side rarely threatened Derek Gaston in the home goal.

Arbroath arguably had the better chances, Joel Nouble’s goal-bound effort deflected wide by Tom Lang early on. And sub Bobby Linn passed up two gilt-edged opportunities in the last moments.