St Johnstone captain Dave Mackay to have hip operation
Last Updated: 12/05/15 1:20pm
St Johnstone captain Dave Mackay faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines in a bid to overcome his problematic hip injury.
Mackay, 35, has been nursing the problem for a lengthy period of time but time has run out on not addressing the issue and he will undergo surgery in England at the end of the week.
The veteran defender will miss the remaining two matches of the season - he was suspended for the final match at Pittodrie in any case - but has also been ruled out of the best part of the opening two months of next season.
The Scot skippered the Saints team that made history in defeating Dundee United 2-0 in the 2014 Scottish Cup final to win the trophy for the first time in their history and made 42 appearances, scoring twice.
Manager Tommy Wright said: “This has been on the cards for a long time now and it was just a case of timing.
"There is a four month recovery period so we had to decide when was best in terms of the end of this campaign, the start of next and also when the surgery was available.
“He’ll be missed but will come back stronger and we have decent defensive cover for these last two matches of the season, the second of which he would have missed anyway after his booking at the weekend.”
Wright has also confirmed that three of St Johnstone’s youngsters have agreed new one-year deals.
He told The Courier: “We have signed up defenders Ally Gilchrist, Gareth Rodger and Aaron Comrie. Gareth has been unlucky with injuries which have hampered his development but they have all been doing well. Ally has done brilliantly at Elgin. It’s been great for him. He went out a boy and has come back a man."
