BY KYLE GUNN

ST Mirren boss Oran Kearney has been dealt a blow after revealing that skipper Stephen McGinn will be missing for a couple of weeks through injury.

The midfielder pulled out of Monday night’s narrow defeat against Kilmarnock in the warm-up.

McGinn headed down south for treatment on a hernia last week but Kearney hopes to have the 30-year-old back for the post-split games.

He said: "He’s had trouble with his hernia, which he’s been managing all season, but he had that taken care of in Leicester.

"He (the surgeon) performed similar operations on Jamie Vardy, who was back in action within seven days and Kaspar Schmeichel, who was back in nine.

"We’re pitching at possibly two weeks for Stephen. I’d settle for him being available for the last five games after the split but it looks as though he’ll be ready before then." 

The Buddies travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone tomorrow with the chance to leapfrog Dundee who face Celtic on Sunday.

And Kearney insists they will be confident of getting a result despite the Killie loss.

He added: “We played them in the last game before the winter break but I reckon we’ll have only three or four players who were involved that night in the team on Saturday.

"There’s been a huge turnaround for us, we’ve found a good level and it’s just a matter of sustaining that for these last nine games.

"You can try and be the most inspirational person around and tell the players that they walk on water and all that but footballers take 99 per cent of their confidence from results and what they do on the pitch. Our performances have been good and that’s given everyone a shot in the arm." 

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