The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Saints not ruling injured pair out of Pittodrie trip
Boss insists it will be ‘wait-and-see’ for Foster and O’Halloran
St Johnstone duo Richard Foster and Michael O’Halloran are injury doubts for Saturday’s clash with Aberdeen – but both still have a chance of playing.
The former Dons defender came off against Hamilton Accies on Saturday with a calf problem, while the on-loan Rangers forward missed out as a result of rolling his ankle at Dens Park the previous weekend.
On Foster, manager Tommy Wright reported: “He got a knock on his calf and it was really sore after the game.
“It looks like it’s settled down a bit over the weekend but he certainly won’t train today or tomorrow. We’ll see how it looks later in the week.
“The initial thoughts were he would be doubt for the Aberdeen game but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
If Foster is ruled out of a return to Pittodrie, Aaron Comrie is an obvious like for like replacement.
The young full-back was given a start at Celtic Park a few weeks ago.
“I’ve got more than adequate cover,” said Wright.
“Aaron has had a couple of games and he’s been really good for us.
“Obviously I want everybody to be fit but I’d be perfectly happy for Aaron to come in if Richard’s not fit.”
As far as O’Halloran is concerned, Wright said: “He needs improvement.
“That didn’t happen in time for the Hamilton game.
“It’s an injury that can sometimes take a bit of time.
“He had an outside chance of making Saturday but we thought giving him another week would be a better idea and we would try to get him as near to 100% as we possibly can.
“We’ll work hard on him all week and then make a decision.”
Summer signing Scott Tanser has had to be patient in his wait for first team football but he certainly took his opportunity after coming on with halfan-hour to go as Saints chased a winner against Accies.
“Scott did well in Europe and was probably unlucky not to start the season,” said Wright.
“He’s been brilliant in training and done really well in the 20s games when he’s played.
“He showed his versatility on Saturday. He’s more than happy to play one up in a wing-back system.
“He put in one great cross which we got a goal off but there were four or five others, and a corner. He’s got a great left foot.
“I was pleased with him and he should be very happy with his contribution.”
The Perth boss added: “We put him on at Celtic in a four in midfield but he’s either going to be a left-back or left wingback for us. We know Scott can play that role really well.”
Wright praised his players for their smooth transition from one formation to another in the second half.
“We’d worked on trying to dominate midfield with a narrow four but it didn’t seem to work,” he said.
“We got dragged over a wee bit and gave them control of the game with the ball.
“Having said that, if you look at the chances in the first half, we still had two or three great ones.
“We made the change to match up in midfield. We’d done it in pre-season and we’ve changed to it against Rangers.
“The players are very adaptable and they know how to play that system.
“It was good that we benefited from it.”