McKinnon plans to mix it up for Cowden clash

“But Tam is a good pro and he will come back as quickly as possible,” added McKinnon.

Meanwhile, the Tangerines boss is to use tonight’s Irn-Bru Cup tie against Cowdenbeath at Tannadice to give a host of players much-needed match action.

He said: “There will be young players in the side but we will also have the likes of Paul Quinn, Patrick N’Koyi, Willo Flood, Paul Keatings, Scott Fraser and Deniz, who could all be doing with more game time.

“So it will be a mix of young players and others who need a runout.”

Paul McMullan, who was sent off during Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Queen of the South, will serve the first of his two-match suspension tonight before also sitting out the league game against Brechin City at the weekend.

Cowdenbeath manager Billy Brown is looking for his players to continue their footballing education in their second visit to Tannadice this season.

The Blue Brazil lost 4-1 to McKinnon’s side in the Betfred Cup last month – but Brown has told his players to go out and enjoy facing the Championship leaders.

He said: “We have a young team and they are learning in every game just now.

“Facing Dundee United will be another step forward in their education as it will highlight what they have learned from the first game.

“I cannot ask anymore from them in terms of how they apply themselves and we were delighted to get a win over Edinburgh City side on Saturday.

“They had Craig Thomson, who was at Hearts, Josh Walker who played for Aberdeen and Middlesbrough, as well as Marc Laird who featured for Millwall.

“Our youngsters did well against them and all I can ask them to do is to put in the same shift at Tannadice.”