ATHLETIC boss James McPake is coy over speculation linking him with Alex Jakubiak but confirmed Kane Ritchie-Hosler could be in contention for a first team return this weekend.

It has been reported that former Watford youngster Jakubiak, a forward, was present at KDM Group East End Park on Saturday to watch the Fife derby defeat to Raith Rovers.

That has fuelled rumours that the 26-year-old could be set for a reunion with McPake, who signed him whilst Dundee manager in 2020.

Jakubiak, who has also had loan spells with Falkirk, St Mirren and Partick Thistle during his career, left Dens Park in the summer having scored 10 goals for the Dark Blues last season on their way to the Championship title, one of which came in the decisive, final day win over rivals Queen's Park.

When speaking to Press Sport this week, McPake wouldn't be drawn on potential additions to his squad, but was keen to discuss the return to action of Ritchie-Hosler.

The popular winger, who joined on a permanent deal from Rangers during the close season, played around 75 minutes of Tuesday's Reserve League opener against Dundee, in which loan signing from Celtic, Ben Summers; vice-captain, Chris Hamilton; and midfielder, Paul Allan, also featured.

It was 20-year-old Ritchie-Hosler's first minutes since Dunfermline's opening pre-season friendly with St Pauli in June, after which he sustained an ankle injury in training, which required surgery.

"I think we got 73 minutes out of him and, to be fair to the lad, he wanted to stay on. We weren't over cautious with him, but that was more than we had planned anyway, and he's looking good," McPake explained.

"We're delighted to have him back, obviously from a squad point of view, but we're delighted for the boy in general that he's back.

"We never had a set time on him, like, say, Ben or Hammy. You just see how the game goes. Paul Allan got 90 minutes as well, Andrew Tod 90 minutes, but with Kane we wanted a good 45 out of him and then we'd assess it at half-time.

"He felt good, he wanted to keep going, and he started the second half really well as well. I think he was enjoying himself being back out there but, obviously, it gets to a point where, it's not so much the injury, but it's maybe the lack of match time that you're protecting him from picking up other niggles.

"He's come through it great. He loved it, he wanted to stay on. Similar to Ben and Hammy, they both wanted to stay on as well. Paul Allan wanted to stay on and we went with that one, just with the numbers we had.

"Again, credit to the first team players, but I don't expect anything less. It's great for them when they go down with that attitude, but also it's great for the younger ones to get exposed to playing against first team players that Dundee had out as well, and playing alongside our first team players."

When asked if Ritchie-Hosler's appearance for the reserves was ahead of schedule, McPake replied: "I think he's back training and playing reserve football in the time that we'd hoped but, from the naked eye looking at him in training, he's certainly ahead of where I would expect him to be sharpness-wise. He's looking really good.

"I understand injuries; I've had plenty of them. You can have wee ups and downs, and you maybe sometimes get that wee buzz when you first come back into the group, but credit to the medical department, and the sports science department, that have done the work.

"I think the biggest pat on the back, or the most credit, has to go to Kane for the work he's put in to come back in the condition he's in.

"It's nothing we didn't expect. He's a very good professional, and he's a young player that wants to have a fantastic career, and he works ever so hard on his game.

"Like with Matty (Todd), young players they get tested with injuries probably more so than the likes of Deniz (Mehmet) for example. Deniz is experienced enough and understands it's the time but, with the younger ones in particular, they're just eager to get back.

"Sometimes you can rush them but we've been cautious not to do that. Kane's come back in the time we expected, but he's looking sharper than I expected him to look at this point in time.

"He felt great. He felt great during the game, he felt great afterwards. I've seen his stats; his stats are really good in terms of what we would be expecting from him in a game."

McPake, who was speaking following Tuesday's match, added that Ritchie-Hosler would be assessed yesterday (Wednesday), and in training for the rest of the week, ahead of Saturday's trip to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.