McInnes hopes Edmondson can fill gap left by his strikers
ABERDEEN manager Derek McInnes hopes to have solved his injury crisis after securing Leeds striker Ryan Edmondson on a six-month loan.
The Pittodrie boss was hit with a double blow ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser with Rangers when he saw last season’s top scorer Sam Cosgrove and understudy Curtis Main both ruled out.
The England Under-19 cap trained with his new teammates yesterday morning and pending international clearance will go straight into the squad for the top-flight kick-off against Steven Gerrard’s side.
McInnes said: “I’m delighted Ryan is here. His eagerness and willingness to come to Aberdeen is really encouraging. He is a player we’ve known about for a while and always felt he had the correct attributes to add to our squad.
“With the injuries to Sam and Curtis we clearly would have been short of two of our key players so I must thank the board for their co-operation in getting Ryan here, during what is a financially tough period for the club. I’ve no doubt Ryan will have a positive impact during his time with us.”
Meanwhile, Craig Bryson is determined to show he is not over the hill at Aberdeen this season as he looks to answer Twitter trolls who claim he views Pittodrie as a retirement home.
The 33-year-old’s first season in the Granite City was disrupted by a persistent ankle injury resulted in just 12 appearances in all competitions.
But what stung more than the pain in his leg was the suggestions online from a small section of the Red Army that he was injury-prone and only interested in collecting one last payday before hanging up his boots.
He said: “I’m on Twitter and I saw some things on there saying I was just up here to pick up a wage, injury-prone, etc.
“If you look back over my career then I’ve played over 550 games, so I’m definitely not injury-prone. I know fans only see a Saturday with Bryson still out injured and might think he’s just up here for retirement.
“But it’s definitely not the case. They don’t know me as a person. Everyone who does knows I’ve tried everything possible to get back playing.
“I’ve got that extra bit of motivation now, just for myself really as I hated missing games.”