PARTICK THISTLE have received a boost with the news that Scott Fox's thigh problem is not as bad as initially feared.

The keeper had to be replaced at half-time against Dundee on Saturday after picking up a muscle strain, with Paul Gallacher taking over as the Jags suffered an agonising late loss.

Fox only returned to the starting line-up last week as he came in for Gallacher for the visit of Celtic and equipped himself well, despite Alan Archibald's side going down 3-0 at Firhill.

The 27-year-old will be monitored in the coming days, and boss Archibald is confident Fox won't face an extended period on the sidelines.

He said: "He is not as bad as we feared it might have been. He hurt his thigh a couple of years ago and it could have been something similar, but it seems to have eased off a bit.

"We will asses him as the week goes on. The physio has not put a date on it yet. We will take it day by day and see how he is. After the game, I thought it could be a couple of months, but I don't think that is the case.

"It is unfortunate for Scott and really bad luck. He came back in for the Celtic game and made a couple of good saves and he made an outstanding save from the free-kick against Dundee.

"He has got no luck, but he needs to keep his head down, keep working hard and that will turn around for him."

The injury to Fox was another blow for Thistle as they were left with nothing to show for their efforts on Tayside.

The Jags turned in their best performance for a couple of weeks, but were denied a share of the spoils when Paul McGowan netted in the dying seconds.

Archibald said: "We were all disappointed, but we get them in, we talk about it and need to move on. We had a chance to win the game late on and, in hindsight, maybe we were better sitting in and taking the point.

"We had players up the pitch and they broke on us. We could have taken the 0-0, but we try to win games. It would have been a good point and ended a disappointing run, but you can't blame the lads for wanting to go and win games, they are desperate to win and turn their fortunes around. Unfortunately, we ended up getting punished for it."

While Fox could be set to return to action quicker than initially expected, defender Dan Seaborne could also step up his comeback today after missing the Dees defeat.

But there is unlikely to be a speedy solution to Sean Welsh's injury jinx as the midfielder continues his recovery from ankle damage.

The 24-year-old was crocked just seconds into his return against Hamilton Accies last month, and Archibald said: "Welshy is still a wee while away yet. He is still in a boot. There was a small fracture on his ankle, but that is actually a good thing because it could heal better and quicker than ligament damage.

"If it was ligaments, he could have been out for longer. We don't know how long he will be. There is no timeframe on him yet.

"He has had absolutely no luck whatsoever and it is gutting for him. We just want to see him back on the pitch. It was a big disappointment that he got injured so soon after coming on."