Caley Thistle sweat on fitness of Ryan Christie after injury at Motherwell
Christie landed awkwardly against Motherwell on Saturday after closing down Kieran Kennedy and went down in agony clutching his knee.
His Caley Thistle career is set to come to an end in January when he is expected to be recalled by parent club Celtic, with Inverness hoping he will not be out of action for too long.
The injury forced him to withdraw from the Scotland under-21 squad for the game against Ukraine this week.
It is a huge blow for Christie, who has been one of the more impressive Caley Thistle players so far this season.
Teammate Josh Meekings is concerned for his young colleague but has urged him to remain positive if the news does turn out to be bad.
“It looked as if he’s jarred his knee, maybe hyper-extended it,” said Meekings.
“It’s not good when you’ve got a young talent getting injured. He’s got to keep his head up and I’m sure he’ll be back in no time.
“We hope it’s not as bad as expected, for him and for us. We need him. He’s been massive for us and he’s a big part of the team.”
Christie’s injury was the one downside on an otherwise pleasing day for the Caley Jags, who halted a four-game skid with the win at Fir Park.
Goals from Greg Tansey, Miles Storey and Iain Vigurs swung the contest for the visiting side.
Grinding out the result was key for Meekings, who has seen his side lose late goals this season that have cost them points.
However, after Motherwell pulled one back on Saturday, Caley Thistle shut up shop and reverted to a defensive style of play to hold on to the three points.
“That other side of the game will have impressed people. When you’re away you can get the crowd on top of you after a goal but we kept opur composure,” said Meekings.
“It proves that when you stick together you can do it. Going into the lead on Saturday helped, and even though the second half was a battle we held on. Gaz came on and kept us steady when we went to five at the back. It’s something we’ve worked on but I don’t know if we’ll revisit it. We managed to get the job done and we can enjoy the break.”
Warren’s introduction to the team again continued his comeback from injury, and along with one or two others, such as Ross Draper and Jordan Roberts, more bodies could return to the squad after the international break.
“Gaz is a big character and a big player for us. He was a mainstay last year and it’ll be good to get him fit as soon as possible,” added Meekings.