BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Raith Rovers manager Ray McKinnon admits his disappointment at suffering a 2-1 defeat against Hibs was overshadowed by a “devastating” injury to loan star Craig Wighton.
The Dundee youngster, who only entered the fray as a substitute after 57 minutes, was on the end of a firm-but-fair challenge by Easter Road stalwart Lewis Stevenson.
The Scotland under-19 internationalist was visibly in agony and immediately signalled to the bench. After four minutes of treatment he was carried off to be replaced by Grant Anderson.
McKinnon fears Wighton may have suffered cruciate knee ligament damage, however the severity of the injury will become clear when the player is fully assessed in the next 48 hours.
Rovers already have one talented teenager sidelined with a cruciate injury, with Lewis Vaughan currently in the midst of his recovery and hopeful of playing again this term.
“My thoughts are with Craig Wighton,” said the Rovers boss. “But the early indications are that he has taken a bad one.
“They [medical staff] are saying it could be a cruciate, which would be devastating for the lad. We are thinking about him at the moment.”
Raith fell behind after just four minutes thanks to a wonder-strike by John McGinn before Jason Cummings doubled the Hibees’ advantage.
However, the hosts responded strongly in the second period, halving arrears through Jon Daly and enjoying a sustained period of pressure, culminating in a Scott Robertson shot cleared off the line by Liam Fontaine.
McKinnon continued: “We gave everything we had and I don’t think there was much in that game.
“You can see why we were unbeaten at home. The guys will give everything and they went until the very end.
“We are a decent squad and I am pleased with our response after giving ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb.”
