Reynolds will sit out games on the plastic

Mark Reynolds will, after all, sit out Dundee United’s matches when they are played on artificial surfaces.

The on-loan Aberdeen central defender missed the Tangerines’ 1-0 win on Queen of the South’s plastic pitch on Saturday and will be out again when they travel to Falkirk’s synthetic grass this weekend.

Manager Robbie Neilson had been optimistic that Reynolds, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury while playing for the Dons on Cove Rangers’ artificial park in pre-season, would be available despite the obvious concerns regarding his knee.

However, the final decision was left to the player and he chose to err on the side of caution.

Neilson said: “He has been training on the astro but he has just come back from a cruciate.

“We just felt it was maybe a bit too soon for him. I understand that and it’s just one of those things.”

The United boss was asked if that meant Reynolds will miss the Bairns’ game and he replied: “Aye – he’s an adult and can make his own decisions.

“I think he is still a wee bit wary of it.”

The news is better concerning United’s other new centre-back that was absent at Palmerston, with Mark Connolly likely to recover from his thigh injury in time for the weekend.

“Mark had a thigh strain which was an issue but hopefully he will be back in,” said Neilson.

“As late as Friday the physio thought he might be able to get through the game but we decided not to risk him.

“Had it been a hamstring we might have gone ahead but because it was the thigh we wanted to be careful and give him a few extra days.

“It will be good to get him back.

“He is a leader and we will also get Calum Butcher back as well after suspension. They are both characters. Everybody else came through the game all right.”

Another central defender who won’t feature on Saturday is William Edjenguele, who is on loan to the Bairns from United and can’t play against his parent club.

Neilson said: “That will be a loss for Falkirk as I think he has done really well for them.”