DUNFERMLINE have suffered an injury blow after it was confirmed that skipper Kyle Benedictus has sustained a fracture in his foot.

The 31-year-old was substituted during Saturday's draw at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and manager, James McPake, told Press Sport earlier this week that he had gone for an x-ray to determine the seriousness of the problem.

Yesterday, speaking to the club website, McPake revealed that Benedictus has suffered a fracture, but is unsure of the extent of the problem.

Losing his key centre half is one of three injury blows, after he said that forward Craig Wighton is to visit a specialist in relation to a knee problem, whilst Kane Ritchie-Hosler has suffered a setback having made his first team comeback at the weekend.

When also speaking to Press Sport, McPake had said Wighton had picked up a "wee niggle in his knee" picked up in training, which the boss said was "not a serious one but we'll make sure we get it right".

Dunfermline Press: Craig Wighton is to see a specialist.Craig Wighton is to see a specialist. (Image: Craig Brown.)

He has been referred to a specialist in London, and will also miss tomorrow's SPFL Trust Trophy tie at Dundee United, as will Ritchie-Hosler.

The popular winger, who signed for the club permanently in the summer, returned to first team action as a substitute on Saturday after being out since the first game of pre-season with ankle injury.

McPake, however, has said he has hurt his knee in training, so will miss the trip to Tannadice before being assessed for the league visit to Queen's Park next weekend.

Dunfermline Press: Kane Ritchie-Hosler will miss tomorrow's game at Dundee United after hurting his knee in training.Kane Ritchie-Hosler will miss tomorrow's game at Dundee United after hurting his knee in training. (Image: Craig Brown.)

On Benedictus, he explained yesterday (Thursday): "The scans have come back, there is a fracture in his foot. We are not quite sure of the extent; it's one of those innocuous ones.

"He kicked the bottom of someone’s boot, and as a defender, you do that almost every game.

"He has been really unlucky that there is a small fracture in his foot but it shows the character of Kyle that it was my decision to take him off. Normally, when he is in discomfort, he will still play. You could see that there was something up with him but he wasn’t too happy about coming off. He wanted to stay on and help us win the game.

"We will get it assessed by the specialist tomorrow or Monday, and then we will get a date for his return.

"He is working away pretty well in the gym just doing what he can. We are probably being over protective with him in terms of weight bearing, but that’s on the medical side, and they know a lot more than me."

McPake continued: "Craig will miss this Saturday. This is not dismissive of this cup - if this was a league game, we would be pushing him a lot more.

"Kane has picked up a completely unrelated one in his knee. That is a sore one, and I don’t mean that with any disrespect to any other player, but when you see how hard he has worked and the effect he had on Saturday.

"He blocked a shot in training and twisted his knee so, again, we will take him out of this weekend and see how he is for Queen’s Park."

As well as Benedictus, Wighton and Ritchie-Hosler, Dunfermline will also be without Rhys Breen for the game at Tannadice, with McPake revealing he also has picked up a knee problem that requires a scan, whilst fellow centre back, Sam Fisher, is suspended due to bookings picked up in last year's competition.

On-loan Dundee goalkeeper, Harry Sharp, is cup-tied having played for his parent club's 'B' team in an earlier round, whilst midfielder, Ben Summers, has joined up with the Scotland under-21 squad ahead of their UEFA Under-21 Euro 2025 qualifier with Spain on Monday.

Whilst Matty Todd and Deniz Mehmet are both continuing to make progress in their recovery from ankle injuries, they will not be in contention for tomorrow's game.