Derek McInnes fears Graeme Shinnie will miss the remainder of the season - meaning he could have played his last game for Aberdeen .
The Dons skipper is out of contract in the summer and has held talks with Derby County.
Shinnie has a new deal on the table at Pittodrie but has yet to commit.
And the 27-year-old now looks set to miss the last four games of the season as Aberdeen push to secure a Euro spot.
He lasted 90 minutes in today's 1-0 win over Kilmarnock but picked up a nasty ankle knock in a challenge which saw Stuart Findlay receive a second booking in the fiery encounter.
And McInnes said afterwards: “It's not good. I’d say he would be a doubt for the remaining games.
"His ankle is a bit of a mess. We’ll see how he goes.”
McInnes admits he took precautionary action with striker Sam Cosgrove who survived further punishment on a couple of occasions after he was cautioned for a foul on Killie skipper Gary Dicker.
Cosgrove was replaced with James Wilson at the interval.
"I had to get him off," said McInnes who revealed Shinnie could be out for the last four games with an ankle knock.
"He was going in half-hearted and I thought about taking him off before half-time.
"It was important we kept 11 men on the pitch. I thought he got a raw deal today.
"We can all sense it, he was only one challenge away from getting sent off."
