Samuel Faces Up to Three Months Out Following Thigh Injury

Alex Samuel is expected to be sidelined for up to three months due to a “significant” thigh injury he sustained, as confirmed by Ross County manager Don Cowie. The 29-year-old striker left the field during the second half of the weekend’s defeat to Hibernian and is now awaiting confirmation on whether he will require an operation. “He had a scan yesterday and it has come back that there is significant damage in the thigh muscle,” Cowie said. “We don’t know exactly the terms of the rehab for it. It could potentially be an operation, it could be normal management in terms of getting him back into playing again. We will see what the next opinion on that is, but it doesn’t look good, the near future for Alex. The initial scans suggest it could be up to three months, potentially longer in terms of what the next action is of the recovery.” This represents a significant setback for Samuel, who previously missed nearly a year due to a knee injury earlier in his tenure at County. However, Cowie emphasized the importance of the team supporting him during this latest setback. “He will be disappointed he can’t build on an effective contribution in the last two games,” the manager added. “Now it is about us getting around him and getting him feeling good again. He has had a tough time, he had a cruciate injury in the last couple of years as well, it’s not easy.” Eli Campbell, a defender who also sustained an injury and left the field at Easter Road, is anticipated to return within two weeks. However, Cowie stated that losing two players this week underscores the necessity for squad additions in January. “I think we are slightly imbalanced in terms of the squad, where the competition is within the squad, so you are always a couple of injuries away from looking light and that has been proved this week,” he said. “We lose two players and then once this window closes you don’t have that opportunity, so we will be giving ourselves the best possible opportunity to have a strong squad going into the second half of the season.”