Inverness Caledonian Thistle captain will miss rest of Premier Sports Cup group stage with ankle injury
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INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle captain Sean Welsh will miss the remainder of the Premier Sports Cup group stage after suffering an ankle injury.
The midfielder, who was taken off in the penalty shoot-out defeat to Stirling Albion on Saturday, will be out for at least two weeks.
His absence comes as a blow as Inverness travel to Aberdeen tonight to take on League One outfit Cove Rangers in their third group match.
Manager Billy Dodds confirmed Welsh’s injury and is waiting further examination to find out how long he will be missing for.
“Sean’s ankle is sore and swollen and I think once the soreness goes out we can assess it better,” he said.
“We will lose him for a couple of weeks at least and it is a blow.
“His ankle just gave way and we know ankle ligaments can go, but hopefully they are not gone.”
He added: “It could be up to five weeks, but we are still waiting to hear that information.
“That’s why we have a strong squad, it will happen throughout the season. He is our captain and was really good against Peterhead and then he rolls his ankle.”
Despite his absence for two weeks, Dodds is confident he has strength in depth in his squad.
He says there are players ready to come and show what they can do, with Scott Allardice likely to take his place.
“You have to prepare for things like that as it will happen at some point,” said Dodds.
“It will give others the opportunity to come in and stake a claim and do well.
“I was mixing up anyway as I have a strong squad and nobody is guaranteed games.
“There was always going to be changes and there is healthy competition.”
Dodds says he can’t accept another result like Stirling Albion and is prepared to make changes if required.
“There is nobody that is guaranteed a place here.
“There are two players for every position and sometimes there are more.
“They should be looking over their shoulder, and if they are going to give performances like that on a regular basis they can’t expect to play. It’s not a warning, the players know that.”
