Sam Morrison injury blow for Buckie Thistle
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SAM Morrison could be out of action until Christmas after a freak training ground injury, Buckie Thistle boss Graeme Stewart has revealed.
The former Ross County centre half required surgery on a dislocated hand after being hit by a fierce shot from team-mate Hamish Munro.
Morrison missed the 2-0 win at Clach on Saturday where his replacement, Lewis MacKinnon, also suffered a hamstring injury.
Stewart admitted that the loss of Morrison, who has been outstanding so far this season, is a hard one to take.
“Sam has suffered a serious injury and has lost movement in his hand right now. It is a massive blow as he has probably been one of our best players this season,” he said.
“Hamish has a pretty fierce shot and Sam was just five yards away when it hit his hand.
“It is one of those things we will have to take on the chin.
“I think Sam will go on to become one of the best centre halves in the league, if not the best centre half.”
However, Stewart added: “That is why we have a big squad and Lewis, Hamish (Munro) and Kieran (Adams) can all play at centre half.”
Mackinnon and Shaun Carrol suffered hamstring injuries at Grant Street Park and it is not clear if either of them will be fit for the trip to Deveronvale tomorrow night.
The Banff side have had a poor start to the season and Stewart knows that makes them dangerous opponents when the teams clash at Princess Royal Park.
“It is a derby and they have been a bit of a bogey team for us the last few years,” said Stewart.
“Steve Dolan has a good, young side with a good attitude and we need to stamp our authority on the game.”
Stewart said he might be looking at making three or four changes to the team that won at Clach last weekend to freshen things up.
The manager admitted he was disappointed with some comments he was made aware of on social media which criticised the Jags performance at Clach.
He urged people to take all factors into account before being quick to pass judgement on the players after games.
Thistle lost striker Sam Robertson the night before the game due to a virus, suffered a couple of injuries during the game and came up against a young Clach side eager to impress a new manager.
“We knew if we didn’t get the first goal early it would be a bit of a grind.
“Last season, we would have panicked and lost our composure.
“We created five or six good chances and took two of them. We controlled the game and defended well. It was another clean sheet, which was pleasing.”
After a goalless first half, Scott Adams broke the deadlock midway through the second half before a late Sam Urquhart penalty, awarded after Andy MacAskill was brought down in the box, completed the scoring.
A sixth win in seven league games keeps the Jags a point off the top, just behind leaders Fraserburgh.
