Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes hopes to have solved his injury crisis after securing Leeds striker Ryan Edmondson on a six-month loan.
The Pittodrie boss was hit with a double blow ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser with Rangers when he saw last season’s top scorer Sam Cosgrove and understudy Curtis Main both ruled out.
Cosgrove faces up to 10 weeks out after injuring his knee in a friendly clash with Hibernian last week while Main – only recently fit again following knee surgery – has suffered a thigh strain on his return to training.
That would have left McInnes with only youngster Bruce Anderson to lead the line against Steven Gerrard’s men.
But he has moved quickly to bolster his attacking options after securing 19-year-old Edmondson on a short-term deal stretching to January from Marcelo Bielsa’s Premier League new boys.
The England Under-19 cap trained with his new Dons team-mates on Friday morning and pending international clearance will go straight into the squad for the top-flight kick-off against Gers.
McInnes said: “I’m delighted Ryan is here.
“His eagerness and willingness to come to Aberdeen is really encouraging. He is a player we’ve known about for a while and always felt he had the correct attributes to add to our squad.
“With the injuries to Sam and Curtis we clearly would have been short of two of our key players so I must thank the board for their co-operation in getting Ryan here, during what is a financially tough period for the club.
“I’ve no doubt Ryan will have a positive impact during his time with us.”
