Hibernian will not take a risk by rushing Joe Newell back from the groin issue that has kept him out of the Easter Road side’s last five games.
The 27-year-old was substituted after picking up a knock in the 1-1 draw with Celtic last month but was due to return for the trip to Dundee United last weekend.
The former Rotherham midfielder trained with the first team squad, but suffered a “reaction” in last Friday’s session and was not cleared by the club’s medical staff.
The deep lying midfielder has been one of the Hibees’ standout performers this season under Jack Ross, however is yet to link up with new recruits Chris Cadden and Jackson Irvine in the Easter Road engine room.
And the Hibs boss revealed he and his backroom staff were having to exercise patience in easing Newell back into action or risk losing him for a longer period, meaning he will miss Saturday's visit of Aberdeen.
He said: “He trained on the Thursday and Friday prior to Tannadice but he suffered a bit of a reaction.
“It’s nothing more serious but it would be pointless to risk him being out for a longer period of time.
“He’s done a lot of hard work this season but we’ve just let him take a step back. Hopefully he’ll be back training with the rest of the team next week.”
Meanwhile, Ross said he had no qualms about handing starts to Kevin Nisbet and Ryan Porteous after their impact from the bench in the win over St Mirren in midweek.
The pair were left out of the starting line up against United and the Paisley side following intense late speculation regarding their futures in the January window.
But both returned as substitutes for the 2-1 victory against Jim Goodwin’s men, with Nisbet winning the corner from which Porteous opened the scoring.
Ross added: “They are in the squad. They are very much part of the plans.
“Everyone saw their reaction on the pitch on Tuesday night and they are in contention to be starting, but we’ve got a number of players who are in contention.”
