Hamilton Accies hope to have injured captain Dylan McGowan fit to face Ayr United next weekend.
The Aussie defender failed to overcome a calf issue sustained against Queen’s Park on February 25 and was a big miss as Accies were held to a 0-0 draw by 10-man Arbroath last Friday night.
McGowan, who is on loan from Kilmarnock, is still on the mend but boss John Rankin hopes with an week off due to their scheduled league opponents, Raith Rovers, in Scottish Cup quarter-final action this weekend, the extra-time will allow the centre-back to return to the fold for their next outing on March 18.
Rankin said: “Dylan felt okay for Friday but, looking at the bigger picture, he had felt okay the week before and then had to come off [against Queen's Park], so it was a case of it being too big a risk for him to play.
"We know how big a player Dylan is for us and to lose him for a while would be a travesty so we need to make sure he is available for as many games as possible between now and the end of the season.
"He is in with the group, he is upbeat, he is working hard and he believes he will be fine by some point this week.
"Hopefully that is the case.
"We've all been there where we are desperate to be back playing and I think that's where he is at the moment.
"It is more a mindset thing with Dylan than a muscle injury. He is telling himself he is fine so it's a case of me reining him in at the moment."
He added: "Other than Dylan, it's just wee niggles that we need time to clear up. Lewis Smith was out of the Arbroath game and dropped out of a reserve game last week with a tight muscle.
"He should be fine to resume training this week at some point."
Accies will play in-house on Saturday to keep players ticking over as they build towards the visit of high-flying Ayr - who they have yet to beat this season after two defeats and a draw.
Rankin said: "What we thought was best to give the boys last weekend off after the Friday game and they have been working this week.
"We have got a game setup amongst ourselves for Saturday morning so we will use that to get minutes into players.
"It is very much a working week, hands to the pump, and, like I say, we have some players nursing wee knocks here and there to work on."
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