| The teenage defender, rated by boss Craig Levein as the best young player he has worked with, has been out since crumpling in agony during the warm-up prior to the Tannadice draw with Celtic on the last day of March.
It was feared he had dislocated a knee cap — an injury that sidelined him for the first half of the season — but such was the swelling around the 17-year-old’s joint that it has been hard to tell the full extent of the injury.
A week or so ago, the knee had improved sufficiently for a scan to take place and a specialist has now examined the results.
An appointment with the Edinburgh-based medic was arranged for late this afternoon and Watson was heading through with his manager.
“Right now, it is a case of getting through and hearing what the specialist has to say, so we should have a clearer picture of the way forward later on,” said Craig.
Whatever the diagnosis, it is likely to be a long haul back to fitness for a defender who has impressed coaching staff like few others at Tannadice over the last decade.
Heading in the opposite direction this afternoon was a very young reserve side that faced Aberdeen at Links Park.
“We still have a few niggles with the first-team squad and I really couldn’t take the risk of sending any of the experienced players up to play and then be left short of bodies at Dunfermline on Saturday,” explained Craig.
“That, and the fact players don’t tend to need extra games at this time of the season, means there was not a lot of experience in the squad.”
On his way back from injury quicker than expected is wide man Craig Conway, whose broken foot has improved to the point where he has been able to start running again.
He had been ruled out for the rest of the season, but now may play some part in the run-in. |
