Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood fears Barry Nicholson could be out for several weeks after the midfielder suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday's 1-0 win over Hearts.
The former Dunfermline player will definitely miss Tuesday's match at Motherwell and Calderwood does not know how lengthy Nicholson's absence may be.
He said: "Barry might be out for a few weeks and we don't know the full extent of the damage yet as he is trying to see a surgeon at the moment.
"He is in an awful lot of discomfort from his shoulder blade and although we don't think he will need an operation, it is a painful thing.
"It is a big blow for us because he is a quality player and you could see that when he created a pass out of nothing for our goal against Hearts.
"We will certainly miss him, but injuries are part and parcel of football, so if we are only going to have to cope without one player from our 23-man squad, then that is not too bad."
Calderwood can at least call on Darren Mackie after he was declared fit for the trip to Fir Park.
The club's top scorer missed the victory over Hearts following a bout of tonsilitis which forced him to miss an entire week of training.
An early goal from Steve Lovell ensured Aberdeen managed without Mackie but Calderwood was disappointed that the Dons failed to score more goals.
He added: "It was a strong performance and it is difficult when the pitches are dry, but I thought that any good football that was played came from us.
"We dominated the game from start to finish and I don't think our goalkeeper Jamie Langfield had any saves to make.
"We deserved to score more goals than we did and the only disappointment is that we weren't able to get them."
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From Sporting Life:
Nicholson Blow For Dons
Mon 12 Mar, 02:09 PM
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood fears Barry Nicholson could be out for several weeks after the midfielder suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday's 1-0 win over Hearts.
The former Dunfermline player will definitely miss Tuesday's match at Motherwell and Calderwood does not know how lengthy Nicholson's absence may be.
He said: "Barry might be out for a few weeks and we don't know the full extent of the damage yet as he is trying to see a surgeon at the moment.
"He is in an awful lot of discomfort from his shoulder blade and although we don't think he will need an operation, it is a painful thing.
"It is a big blow for us because he is a quality player and you could see that when he created a pass out of nothing for our goal against Hearts.
"We will certainly miss him, but injuries are part and parcel of football, so if we are only going to have to cope without one player from our 23-man squad, then that is not too bad."
Calderwood can at least call on Darren Mackie after he was declared fit for the trip to Fir Park.
The club's top scorer missed the victory over Hearts following a bout of tonsilitis which forced him to miss an entire week of training.
An early goal from Steve Lovell ensured Aberdeen managed without Mackie but Calderwood was disappointed that the Dons failed to score more goals.
He added: "It was a strong performance and it is difficult when the pitches are dry, but I thought that any good football that was played came from us.
"We dominated the game from start to finish and I don't think our goalkeeper Jamie Langfield had any saves to make.
"We deserved to score more goals than we did and the only disappointment is that we weren't able to get them."