Jim Goodwin says leaving Scott Brown out against Rangers was the "sensible decision."
And he expects his captain back fit for the run-in after a weekend off to rest his legs.
The former Celtic skipper wasn't in the Aberdeen squad at all as they fell to a narrow defeat at Ibrox.
His absence played into rumours of a dramatic fall-out in the wake of Stephen Glass' departure.
But Goodwin insists no conclusions should be drawn from Brown sitting out, as the 36-year-old was simply rested after playing 75 minutes against Hearts during the week.
The Aberdeen boss said: “There was no issue with Scott at all. He played on Wednesday night, his first game for a wee while after being out with a hamstring problem.
“He just had a wee bit of fatigue in his legs.
“We didn’t want to risk him with the chance of possibly breaking down and finding himself injured again.
“It was a sensible decision from the medical team, from Scott himself and from me.”
Kemar Roofe's winner was enough to sink Dons at Ibrox and leaves them tenth in the table.
But incredibly they are still in the hunt for the top six even with just three games remaining before the split.
Only five points separate them from fourth-placed Hibs, who they face at Pittodrie next weekend.
