Hibs' injury worries over key trio

COLIN CALDERWOOD was today sweating on the fitness of three key players following the bitter disappointment of losing his first match as Hibs manager.

The new Easter Road boss looked on in dismay as Aberdeen raced into a four-goal lead after just an hour at Pittodrie but although Hibs claimed two goals to give the final scoreline a more respectable look, Hibs lost midfielders David Wotherspoon and Kevin McBride along with striker Colin Nish to injury.

Now all three face a race to be fit for Saturday's crucial clash against Dundee United as Hibs struggle to get their season up-and-running with only eight points gained from their opening nine matches.

Their absence would give Calderwood a massive headache with goalkeeper Graham Stack, playmaker Merouane Zemmama and on-loan forward Darryl Duffy all on the long-term injury list while leading scorer Derek Riordan, carrying a calf injury sustained in the previous week's win over Kilmarnock, was deemed not fit enough to start at Aberdeen.

Riordan, however, did make a second half appearance at Pittodrie with Wotherspoon having limped out of the action after just 21 minutes after being caught late by the Dons' Yoann Folly, while McBride failed to reappear after the interval.

Calderwood said: "David took a whack as did Kevin although it wasn't a bruising game. Derek hadn't been able to train last week with bruising around his calf and had a wee test before the game. He seemed okay but we didn't really want to put him on as earlier as we did."

Nish appeared to go over on an ankle as he landed after nodding home Hibs' first goal, Sol Bamba adding a second in the final minute.