Dunfermline: James McPake on injuries and January pre-Queen's Park

Manager James McPake has provided an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of tomorrow night's trip to Hampden to face Queen's Park, and said the club are "working very hard" to try and bring in new additions.

Tuesday's derby defeat to Raith Rovers saw Fisher stretchered off in the first half with a facial injury, and suffer concussion, whilst Rhys Breen was also substituted with a knock sustained in the second period.

Rhys Breen was substituted during Tuesday's derby. (Image: Craig Brown.)

McPake also said that Todd, who missed Dunfermline's first 10 league matches of the season due to an ankle problem that required surgery, picked up a hamstring problem in the draw with Arbroath before Christmas, and could be facing another spell on the sidelines, whilst captain, Kyle Benedictus, suffered a reoccurrence of a thigh problem, at Ayr United on Saturday, that had kept him out since late October.

Speaking to the media today, McPake began by answering a question on Fisher's condition, explaining: "He's got multiple fractures to his nose and seven or eight stitches were required just below his eye. In terms of that, we're lucky.

"There's nothing in it at all. It's good striker player - I think it's (Lewis) Vaughan or (Jack) Hamilton (of Raith Rovers), and then Chris Hamilton as well. It's one of those really unfortunate incidents.

"I think the fact that he had the concussion - he was only back a week after the initial concussion (in mid-December), albeit, it was a couple of weeks ago - that's two concussions now in the space of three weeks, so we just need to be very careful with that.

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"He seems ok, he's comfortable enough, he's speaking away. We just have to be very careful with it.

"You find yourself in these situations, even when they are seen as really unlucky injuries, or injuries you can't plan for, you always get to a point where you look. It's the same when you're losing games or you don't look as sharp on a Saturday. The first thing you go back and check is the training - the volume, the intensity. Are we doing enough of this? Are we doing too much with that? We've done that with all these injuries and there are a lot of them.

"Kane Ritchie-Hosler has had three that wouldn't have mattered had he done nothing the day before or trained for six weeks. You fall on your shoulder and it's going to go out; it's just unlucky.

"There's a couple that we're looking at and saying 'we need to get these people right', get the players back. When they've had a reoccurrence, Benedictus in particular, when you look at it, we basically need to start like it's a pre-season for him now, with the time he's missed out.

Kyle Benedictus came on for the final 20 minutes at Ayr United on Saturday, his first appearance since late October, but appears to have suffered a reoccurrence of a thigh problem. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"We've been careful with the injuries. I keep saying it, but the way this club is with medical care and specialists, you can't say a bad word at all.

"We've had all the best opinions, we've done it in the best way we feel we can, and it's just one of these things at the minute."

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Looking at player availability for the Spiders clash, which will be screened live on BBC Scotland, McPake continued: "Paul Allan should be ok.

"Lewis [McCann] is flying, to be fair. He's now high-speed running, so Lewis will be OK for next week. Again, it's one of those ones - you get a wee bit excited and you want to rush him. We can't do that, particularly the way he plays, and with it being a hamstring.

"Matthew (Todd) has a Zoom call with a specialist in London tonight, so we'll know about Matthew tonight.

"It was during the Arbroath, the last minute he felt something in his hamstring. It doesn't look like a very good one, if we're honest, but we'll wait and see what the specialist says tonight.

Matty Todd is to speak to a specialist over a hamstring problem picked up at Arbroath. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"I was speaking today to some of the staff and it's the worst period I can remember in terms of even being a player. I was no stranger to injuries, so I spent a fair bit of time in the treatment room, but I can never remember a [period] like this, whether as a player, coach or manager.

"The big thing is you see the character in the group. Chris Hamilton playing with a mask when he was offered surgery - he's decided he wants to play for the football club.

"Michael O'Halloran. Michael had a knock in his shin. He was ill at the Ayr United game, gets a knock in the game, comes off, but even when we were leaving him out due to the injury, he wanted to be on the bench against Raith. I thought he came on and was very effective.

"Players are certainly giving all they can, the ones that can. Paul Allan is desperate to play. McCann is desperate to play, we're not going to allow him - and there is another couple, but I won't go into it. There's a few more that are desperate to play but we need to be aware of what happens if they do play and something goes wrong.

"In terms of the group and the togetherness, you're looking and there isn't many changes, but people are playing out of position and doing everything they can for the team and I'm proud of that."

When asked about possible additions, McPake added: "Yes, we are speaking and we have been speaking, but obviously these injuries, they certainly speed up everything that’s going on, and we are working away, but I don’t think there will be anything by tomorrow night.

"We are certainly working very hard to help the rest of the players out."