The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Wighton continues comeback with 45 minutes for Dee U20s
Dundee striker Craig Wighton has taken a massive stride towards a return to the first-team after starting his first match in nine months.
The 20-year-old played the opening 45 minutes of the Dee’s development squad fixture against Kilmarnock, helping the youngsters to a 1-0 triumph courtesy of a Jesse Curran strike.
Wighton emerged unscathed from the outing and, allied with his half-hour cameo against Dundee United’s youth side last week, is edging closer to senior action.
The long-awaited comeback of the Scotland under-21 internationalist will be a welcome boost for Dens Park boss Neil McCann, who has been without Wighton since he suffered devastating cruciate knee ligament damage last July.
Despite initial fears that he could be out of action for the entire season, the subsequent surgery was a success and the forward has made prodigious progress in his gruelling rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, fellow Dee frontman Simon Murray reckons star signing Steven Caulker is destined to be an unlikely goal threat in their battle for survival.
The England internationalist found the net on his debut against Kilmarnock, albeit he was unable to prevent the Dark Blues from succumbing to a 3-2 reverse, and teed up Murray for a simple finish in their thrilling 2-1 win over Partick Thistle last Saturday. And Murray reckons that is a sign of things to come after hailing the ex-Liverpool ace’s physicality and anticipation– in both boxes.
“Caulks has obviously got massive pedigree and is a big lad,” said Murray.
“But it’s not just about how strong he is, it’s how he anticipates where the ball will be and has a real desire to win the ball.
“I always think that if you can get in and around a player like that, then you can maybe get three or four of those goals between now and the end of the season. I definitely hope so – because they are quite easy goals!”