DICKER RULED OUT OF OPENER BY OP

KILMARNOCK captain Gary Dicker has been ruled out of the first game of the Premiership season against Hibs after undergoing a double hernia operation. The midfielder had the procedure carried out last week and manager Alex Dyer is hoping he will only be sidelined for around three weeks. As well as missing the openingday trip to Easter Road on August 1, the Irishman is also likely to be a doubt for the televised visit of Celtic eight days later. Dyer, who bolstered his squad on Wednesday with the signing of left-back Brandon Haunstrup on a two-year deal from Portsmouth, said: ‘Dicks has had a double hernia, which these days isn’t a major surgery, so he’ll be out for maybe two to three weeks. He had it done last week, so maybe in a couple of weeks’ time we can get him back out there.’

Dyer, meanwhile, insists he is not overly concerned about the result from Wednesday’s 2-1 friendly loss to Livingston. Killie take on Dundee United this weekend in their last warm-up game before the competitive action gets underway. Speaking to Killie TV, Dyer added: ‘It was a tough game, a tougher game than last week’s against Motherwell. ‘It’s part of pre-season so the result is not that important, the most important thing is the boys get another 45, 60 minutes under their belt. ‘They worked hard, they’re still a bit rusty but hopefully they will be ready by the time we face Hibs. ‘The fitness levels are good, we still need to be sharper when we’re passing the ball and in front of goal but that will come.’