Aberdeen struck with several injury concerns ahead of Celtic games; Hayes set for scan

By David Walton

October 21, 2020

Aberdeen have been struck with four injury concerns after their 4-2 win over Hamilton last night.

Derek McInnes’ side moved to just three points behind Celtic in the table with an impressive display against Brian Rice’s side. The Dons were 4-0 ahead after 31 minutes as they showed that they’re finding their golden touch ahead of Sunday’s Pittodrie encounter with the Hoops.

The two sides will then reunite for Halloween’s re-arranged Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. Both matches are massive in the context of Celtic’s season, with Jonny Hayes set to come up against his former club for McInnes’ side.

Or maybe not. Hayes was one of four players to come out of last night’s win with an issue. Speaking in the Daily Record, McInnes mentioned Hayes as one of four players who picked up injuries.

“We lost a couple of poor goals and that took the shine off a bit and a couple of injuries to players. Jonny Hayes will get a scan tomorrow. He is feeling his groin and he did the right thing in coming off.

“Ash Taylor and Ross McCrorie had a couple of knocks as well and Edmondson rolled his ankle but Jonny is the most at risk but we will see where he is tomorrow.”

Hayes should’ve been competing in cup semi for Celtic

Despite the Scottish Cup effectively being last season’s competition, there are no rules against new signings featuring in the semi-final or final this year.

What that means is that Hayes, should he be fit, will be able to play for Aberdeen despite playing in previous rounds for Neil Lennon’s men. Had the game not been rearranged, the Irishman would’ve been looking to shoot down McInnes’ side and likely would’ve started.

But hopefully he manages to make the game and isn’t suffering from his injury for any real period of time. It will be good for Celtic to compare what they allowed to leave in Hayes to what they have now in Diego Laxalt.

Jonny Hayes left Celtic to return to Aberdeen (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)

It’s also interesting to note some of the other injuries picked up by the Dons yesterday. Ash Taylor and Ross McCrorie have been regulars this season, whilst Ryan Edmondson bagged a brace yesterday before going over on his ankle.

However, only Edmondson had to come off. Both McCrorie and Taylor managed to stay on the pitch, perhaps showing that their injuries aren’t overly-concerning ahead of the upcoming fixtures.

But all eyes will be on Hayes and whether he can recover in time. There are already big question marks about whether Sam Cosgrove will be fit in time for the cup game or not, so losing Hayes would be another massive blow for McInnes.

In other news, a regular BBC pundit has urged people to “calm down a bit” after Celtic’s derby defeat.