Aberdeen boss Barry Robson is optimistic they will be able to call upon star striker Bojan Miovski for Sunday's Viaplay Cup Final meeting with Rangers and claimed he already has a starting XI in mind despite being handed a selection headache following the Dons' terrific Europa Conference League triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
The North Macedonia international missed the colossal Group G win at Pittodrie because of a hamstring strain sustained during the Scottish Premiership victory against Hearts last weekend. Miovski's absence had led to fears the talisman could be ruled out of the Hampden Park showdown, but Robson has made it clear the injury isn't anything to worry about.
Ester Sokler accompanied Miovski up front when Philippe Clement's Gers travelled up the A90 three weeks ago and the duo showed that they are capable of unsettling the Rangers back-line throughout the 1-1 draw. Whilst, Miovski was the lone attacker as the Reds achieved success at Ibrox earlier this season. Fellow striker Luis 'Duk' Lopes is also in a rich vein of form with a goal and an assist in his previous two outings. Robson insisted the performances of Sokler and Duk - who both netted impressive strikes for a much changed Aberdeen side in midweek - have given him a positive dilemma going into the match and gave an update on Miovski's chances of featuring at the national stadium.
He confessed: “We will see how Bojan is again tomorrow [Saturday] morning but I’m optimistic he’ll be fine. We still have a training session to go before the game and he’s been in the gym as well as out on the training pitch. So we’re optimistic he will be available, it’s not something I’m worried about. “Everyone came out of the Frankfurt game fine so we have a few decisions to make. Getting Jimmy McGarry and Shayden Morris back has been a real help to us, they give us pace on the sides.
“Bojan is firing, Duk is firing and Ester Sokler is firing - those boys can cause problems for any team. I have a team in my mind and have been close to a team for a wee while, but when you see things like we did on Thursday night then sometimes it can change.” James McGarry has recently returned from his own injury set-back and is knocking on Robson's door to be the first choice left-wing-back. He will be competing with veteran Jonny Hayes for that role on Sunday, since Jack MacKenzie is suspended. McGarry was taken off during the second half against Frankfurt but revealed it was just a precaution, and he is now eager to channel the "awesome" experience of European football by bringing silverware back to the Granite City. He declared: "I’ve spent 10 weeks out on the sidelines and it’s tough sitting in the stands watching football. You just want to be out there playing. For me, it’s just awesome being out there in front of our home fans, it was a pretty proud moment for me playing my first European game. "I'm looking forward to the next couple of days, the build-up to the final then going down and getting stuck in. We know it’s going to be a different kind of game down there, finals are one-off games, but I think we’ve got to focus on ourselves and how we want to play. "I don't know if I would say beating Frankfurt is a turning point. We know the quality that we've got, we know we are a great team and we've got a quality group of players who can step in and play."
