Recurrence of hamstring issue sidelines Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna

ABERDEEN were last night sweating over Scott McKenna’s fitness after he hobbled off against Kilmarnock.

The Dons defender hit the deck late in his side’s goalless draw with Kilmarnock after an innocuous challenge in the middle of the park.

The 22-year-old missed four weeks earlier in the season with a hamstring complaint and early indications are that yesterday’s injury looks to be along similar lines.

“He has got a bit of tightness in his hamstring but I don’t think it is as bad as it was when he had to come off against Rangers here,” said McInnes.

“I imagine he will be out on Tuesday and a doubt for the next few games but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as his previous injury.

“They are all important games now. Fortunately, we’ve got Tommie Hoban back and Mark Reynolds will get a game this week.

“Michael Devlin will be back in about 10 days and hopefully Scott isn’t too badly injured.”

McInnes was left frustrated by his side’s failure to turn possession into goals against Killie.

Steve Clarke’s side were camped in their own half for much of the afternoon but frustrated their hosts throughout.

The Dons claimed for a penalty late on when Niall McGinn tumbled to the ground.

But the Dons gaffer admitted the referee, Nick Walsh, may have made the right call in denying them.

“I thought there was a contact but whether it was a foul or a penalty I don’t know,” said McInnes.

“It was quite a frustrating, competitive, stop-start game. Both sets of players were putting everything into it but it was lacking a bit of quality at the right times.

“The onus was on us as the home team to do more.

“We had the majority of the ball, the whole of the game – I can’t really remember Kilmarnock being in our box too often. And we nullified the counter attack.

“I’ve watched Kilmarnock a lot and they can be very compact in their shape then break quickly and hurt you but we dealt with that well.

“The concentration was good but in these kind of games we look for that bit of brilliance – wider players going past people – and it was a combination of that side not being quite there and Kilmarnock defending very well. They are up there for a reason.

“We had an attacking shape, enough attacking players in the team, even with our subs we tried to be as positive as we could. But Kilmarnock were good enough, experienced enough and had enough know-how to get the clean sheet I’m sure they came for.”