Derek McInnes insists Kyle Magennis is ready to prove a point after joining Kilmarnock.  

The 24-year-old signed a two-year deal at Rugby Park this summer following the mutual termination of his contract at Hibernian. 

The midfielder’s time in the capital was ravaged by injury. Last term, he made just 13 appearances for Hibs, all of which came in the Premiership. He scored twice, but a combination of knee, hamstring, and pelvic injuries often kept him on the treatment table. 

The midfielder made his debut for Killie in their weekend win over Annan Athletic. He came off the bench as goals from Danny Armstrong, Fraser Murray, and Innes Cameron claimed the Ayrshire side three points in their first Viaplay Cup group game. 

McInnes is excited for Magennis to show what he can do, as he admitted the former St Mirren captain wouldn’t be at the club if he hadn’t suffered such frequent injury issues in the early years of his career. 

“Although he’s had his injuries, that’s probably why we’ve been able to get him here, for me, he’s a player who has those qualities,” McInnes said. “He’s got good strength, he can handle having the ball well, he can play a variety of positions.   

“I’ve always felt Magennis is capable of scoring goals, we need attacking midfielders who can chip in, and I feel like he can.   

“There’s sympathy and empathy from me, I know he’s had a lot of injuries, sometimes that happens, you get all the issues at the same time. I felt like that happened to me as a player, I got a lot of issues in a short period of time, Kyle is still young and has a lot of years ahead of him. 

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“He’s bullish, and he’s keen to come and make a point, if we can get a motivated and injury-free Kyle Magennis then I feel like he’s one that will add that extra quality in the final third. 

“Speaking to the doctors and physios they said nothing would alarm them in terms of failing a medical.   

“The culmination of a few injuries is obviously a concern when they haven’t played many games. But there wasn’t one specific injury that we’d say ‘We are really concerned about that’.   

“He’s been brave enough to take it on and we’ve taken the leap of faith, players look for a manager and club to do that, we are trying to help him and in turn, he can help us.” 

It’s a punt, no doubt about it. Although, last season, Joe Wright proved that sometimes such gambles can work for clubs at the level of Killie, who then gain a player who would otherwise be unattainable. 

The defender was forced to take a year out of football before joining Killie, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting that considering the 28-year-old played 43 games last term. 

McInnes added: “It shows it can pay off, it also shows that sometimes it’s what you need to do to get good players.   

“If Joe Wright was fully fit before we signed him and didn’t have those injury worries he’d be playing in the Championship, that’s the pathway he was on.   

“Kyle probably wouldn’t be available to us if he didn’t have those injuries, you have to roll the dice a wee bit and take a gamble. It turned out that Joe was available for most games last season, so it can work out."