IT’S not so much the trauma of his dislocated fibula injury that has left Petershill midfielder Liam Finnigan devastated as the prospect of him sitting out crunch back to back cup games against St Roch's and Bonnyrigg Rose.

SportTimes caught up with the 27-year-old for a progress report on the freak injury sustained in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat of Shettleston at New Petershill Park and he was in typically positive mood despite being on crutches and with his right leg in a splint.

Liam recalled: “I was the centre of attraction at the Royal Infirmary on Saturday evening with doctors arriving from everywhere in order to examine this injury which none of them had ever seen before.

“Morphine was keeping me relatively pain-free but I did shudder more than a bit at the loud noise that came from my leg when a specialist manipulated the bone back into place.

“I felt better immediately and having my leg put in a splint rather than a plaster cast was also a great relief as it gives me hope I might be back playing sooner rather than later.

“D-day is tomorrow when I visit a knee clinic where the full extent of any ligament damage will be revealed, however I’m staying positive and keeping my spirits up by targeting a comeback in early March.

“It’s enough of a kick in the teeth to be missing the cup double-header without preparing myself for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.”

The former Campsie Black Watch ace can vividly recall the circumstances that led to him being stretchered off in obvious distress.

He said: “I won a race to get to the ball first and knocked it forward but my leg then stayed planted while the rest of my body moved forward and the pain I felt was excruciating.

“I’m no stranger to serious injury having previously broken my ankle but Saturday’s experience was something I never want to go through again.

“I had arranged a shortened Sunday-Friday holiday break in Tenerife with the intention of being back in time to face St Roch's but that’s now a no-no as well as the Scottish Cup contest at home to Bonnyrigg.”

The old adage saying it never rains but it pours came home to roost for Peasy boss Willie Patterson on Monday night when a 5-3 friendly match victory over Rossvale was marred by another injury blow after frontman Chris Hall damaged his hamstring.

The crestfallen gaffer said: “That’s our three top scorers, Jason Hardie, Chrissy and of course Liam who bagged both our goals when we beat the Candy Rock 2-0 earlier this season, all sidelined at one and the same time going into two vital cup games.

“Thankfully both our remaining frontmen Stephen McGladrigan and Graeme Hearton showed their eye was in by notching goals against Rossvale along with a Paul Callander counter, however the way our luck is going I fancy we will need to wrap them in cotton wool ahead of Saturday’s game.”

The new Coin Holdings West of Scotland Cup clash of the Glasgow near neighbours at the James McGrory Stadium promises to be a no-holds barred encounter even though St Roch's boss Andy Cameron was at pains to play down the significance of the second round tie last night.

He insisted: “I’m looking forward to the game from the viewpoint that it will be good for our players to test themselves against a very good team, however winning on Saturday will not alter my opinion that promotion is this club’s number one aim this season.

“Yes it will be good to welcome back the Peasy assistant boss Paul Kelly to the Garngad and I’m sure the three former Petershill players in our ranks Danny Irvine, John Stark and Kieron Daw will be motivated to do well, but I see the 90 minutes as an opportunity for my players to get back on the rails following a blip in form.

“Losing three of our last five outings has dented confidence and I’m sure a good performance against the Peasy will have us back on the rails.”

Cameron is not exactly graced with numbers for his own selection hand with the influential John Sweeney rated extremely doubtful along with Irvine while fellow full-back Mark Mathieson has departed the Garngad scene due to work commitments.

The Candy boss said: “On top of everything else, Jordan Halsman and Stevie Logan are both cup-tied through playing for Shettleston and I reckon we will struggle to have more than 14 available players.

“It’s not ideal but on the bright side, Martin Shields and Dom Fabers both resumed training in midweek following long lay-offs and they will be challenging for jerseys before too long.”

Meanwhile, up for sale at Forth Wanderers is striker Martin Hannaway, while Ayrshire District frontrunners Ardrossan Winton Rovers have transfer-listed Darren Miller after he was double-red carded in last weekend’s 4-3 defeat by Darvel.