Turriff United's Mackie ruled out for 12 months
TURRIFF United are in no hurry to snap up a new signing after seeing former Dons striker Darren Mackie ruled out for the next 12 months.
Mackie (32) underwent extensive knee ligament surgery last week, and faces a lengthy rehabilitation, with no guarantees that he will play again before next December, 2015, at the earliest – if at all.
"Darren needed the operation, and there really was no decision to make for him or the club," said Turriff assistant manager Bob Beckwith.
"The operation was successful, and now it’s just a question of how quickly and how successfully he can bounce back from it, in what will be a lengthy recovery period.
"Darren was playing well and had earned himself a new contract on merit when he was injured, in what looked like a fairly innocuous collision with Fraserburgh’s keeper, at Bellslea, barely a week later.
"The club will do whatever it can to support him, and there will be a place for him here, if and when he decides he can play again."
Turriff have recently been linked with potential bids for Banff-born Stuart Anderson and Deveronvale’s transfer-listed midfield man Graeme Rodger.
But manager Ross Jack, who spent the end of last week south of the border dealing with the aftermath of a family bereavement, has already made it clear he feels under no pressure to strengthen his squad as a matter of urgency, despite Mackie’s setback.
Turriff, idle since their impressive 4-3 win at Wick 10 days ago, will return to competitive action tonight (Tuesday) when they should finally play their twice-postponed Aberdeenshire Shield quarter-final derby tie against Deveronvale (8pm).
Jamie Beagrie misses out due to work commitments, and late fitness checks will decide whether full-back Lewis Davidson and the in-form Gary McGowan, both injured at Wick, will face the Banffers.
"We’ll be under no pressure to take any risks with Lewis or Gary because we have a squad packed with confident players champing at the bit to get into the side," said Beckwith. "We’re in great form, but we’re focusing on one game at a time, and we know we can expect a competitive challenge from Deveronvale, despite their injury problems and their recent results simply because the tie is a derby.
"Then it’s back down to league business again on Saturday with a trip to Lossiemouth, where Charlie Charlesworth is already making them harder to beat.
"If we can come out of the next week with an Aberdeenshire Shield semi-final, and another three points in the bag, we will be very pleased."