The news that Partick Thistle right-back Mustapha Dumbuya has been ruled out for a lengthy spell with a ruptured Achilles tendon has been met with dismay by Firhill assistant manager Scott Paterson.
The defender picked up the injury over the weekend, and could be out for six months or more after undergoing surgery on Monday night. Paterson says that Thistle will now be forced to bring in an extra player to cope with the loss of the dynamic Sierra Leone international.
“It’s a massive blow for the team, the club and the player himself,” Paterson said. “He’s a massively important player for us, and it’s so disappointing because we thought he had got over that little spell of niggly injuries that had kept him out last season.
“We’re hugely disappointed but sometimes these things happen in football and we just have to get on with it.
“It means that we’ll have to get another defender in, that’s pretty obvious, and not just one but possibly two with this news.
“That has a knock-on effect on other parts of the team where we might have wanted to strengthen. That’s the business we’re in though, we just have to try and work around and we can’t sit and feel sorry for ourselves.”
The timing of the injury coming so soon after back-up right-back Gary Miller left the club may be seen as unfortunate, but Paterson insists the reduced contract offer made to the player did not display a lack of foresight.
“That was down to Gary, he was offered a contract and he knocked it back,” he said. “That happens, we don’t stick a gun to a player’s head and make them sign.
“He got offered something and he decided to turn it down. He did well for us though Gary and we wish him all the best.”
Thistle did make two additions to their defensive unit last week with the signings of Danny Devine from Inverness and David Syme from Kilmarnock.
Paterson is hoping that those two players – as well as one or two other possible new arrivals – will be fully integrated into the Thistle squad on their pre-season trip to England next week.
He added: “Danny has had two and half great seasons with Inverness, knows the league well and he’s a good footballer who uses the ball really well, which is something that myself and Alan really like.
“I think he’s a great signing for us. David is one that is potentially for the future, but you never know, he might come in and make a big impact. It’s up to them now to stake a claim.
“The good thing about this club is that anybody who comes through the door is made feel welcome straight away, and the boys have settled in well.
“Next week getting away together for a bit will be good for us all and it’s important for any club to have that chance to do a bit of bonding.
“Hopefully we can get a couple ore bodies in before then and have some news by the end of this week, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
“Going forward we’ve got very good options, but we would like to add in a couple of areas.
“One thing we always try to do is get players who can adapt to a couple of positions or formations, and we want to get players who will improve the squad.”
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