Football: McKinlay misses visit to Tynecastle

Tosh McKinlay will miss Celtic's Coca-Cola Cup quarter-final against his old club Hearts tonight, and may also be out of the first Old Firm derby of the season against Rangers at Ibrox on 28 September.

The 31-year-old Scotland international has undergone a minor knee operation after initially sustaining the injury in last month's World Cup qualifier against Austria in Vienna.

Celtic also have Alan Stubbs still injured and Brian O'Neil suspended, but that is nothing by comparison to the problems facing Hearts.

The four players sent off against Rangers on Saturday - Pasquale Bruno, David Weir, Neil Pointon and Paul Ritchie - will all be serving their automatic one-match suspensions.

Three more defenders are injured, but Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, said: "The quality of the four players we have lost will clearly lessen our chances, but we won't be sitting back. It's not as if you can play for a draw.

"We will have a go at Celtic. It would be nice to face them with a full squad, but we will give it our best shot. Sometimes when the chips are down it can work in your favour."

Jefferies, who has Craig Levein, Gary Locke and the reserve defender David Murie injured, could add the 18-year-old left-back Gary Naysmith because of the four suspensions. Celtic add Stuart Gray to their squad, while there is a doubt over Jorge Cadete's fitness.

Aberdeen hope to continue their impressive defence of the cup as they travel to the First Division side Dundee in a repeat of last season's final, which Aberdeen won 2-0.

Jim Duffy, the Dundee manager, is waiting for news on the fitness of George Shaw, while the defender Tommy McQueen is out injured. "It was a big high to beat United at Tannadice and it would be completely unbelievable to knock out Aberdeen as well," Duffy said.

"Financially, it would not make a great deal of difference to us unless we made it back to a final. The day someone comes in here and offers me money to buy a player is the day I will need resuscitation."

Aberdeen could recall the midfielder Paul Bernard at the expense of either David Rowson or Darren Young, while Stephen Glass and Dean Windass are fit.

The other Premier v First Division match is at East End Park, where Dunfermline meet Partick Thistle. Dunfermline reached the League Cup final five years ago where they lost to Hibs, while Partick have not made any impression on a cup tournament since reaching the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1979.

Thistle will be without Tommy Turner, Dave Farrell and Tom Smith, while Dunfermline have Hamish French back but will give a late fitness test to Craig Robertson.