Charles Dunne will miss St Mirren’s start of the cinch Premiership season after being ruled out for three weeks with a calf injury.
The 30-year-old defender had to come off late in the 1-0 ViaPlay Cup win at Cowdenbeath on Tuesday night.
The Paisley club begin their league campaign with a trip to Hibernian on Sunday, August 6.
They play their final group game of the ViaPlay Cup against Group H leaders Forfar on Saturday and the Buddies will win the section with a victory.
Manager Stephen Robinson said: “He is not as bad as we first feared, we are looking probably about three weeks with Charles.
“So it is obviously a blow for us – but not as bad as we thought it was going to be.
“He has had a scan, he will be a similar time frame as Keanu (Baccus, who previously had a calf injury) so hopefully three weeks and he will be back available again.
“It is one of those things. Every club is going to be the same, picking up injuries.
“We have got boys who can step in and sometimes through someone’s bad luck you end up finding someone who appears from nowhere and they take it by the scruff of the neck and become a player that you didn’t see.”
Meanwhile, new signing James Bolton is hoping to kick-start his career at the Paisley club following ankle injury frustrations over the last two years which brought just 22 appearances and some “dark days”.
The 28-year-old Englishman joined Saints on a one-year deal following the expiry of his contact at English League One champions Plymouth after Declan Gallagher’s move to Dundee United for a conditional fee.
Bolton said: “The last two years have been frustrating with injury.
“People from the outside probably don’t see what a footballer goes through when he is injured.
“You do take being fit for granted and that’s something no footballer should do. It has been mentally very tough. You have some dark days.
“The lack of games in the last two years has made me hungry. I have moved everything to Scotland and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
