Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin has revealed that Jack MacKenzie should be fit and available to be named in the Scottish Cup final squad to face Celtic at Hampden Park on Saturday.
MacKenzie suffered a serious facial injury after being struck by part of a chair following his club's away defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Saturday.
A man has appeared in court charged with culpable and reckless conduct following the incident.
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However, Thelin fully expects MacKenzie to line up alongside his teammates for the end-of-season showpiece after he joined he took part in training sessions on Wednesday morning.
He reckons that the 25-year-old stopper was fortunate to escape a more serious injury to his eye after the chair bounced off his head and face.
The Swede admits that players' safety is always paramount in these situations.
Thelin said: "Jack is doing well, he was on the pitch today training with the team, so he’s okay.
"It was important for him to be involved, of course, he has some restrictions, heading the ball with the stitches.
"He was on the pitch with the boys, training well, and he was good. We are looking forward to the weekend.
"Was he lucky? Yes, it was on his head, so it was good that it didn’t hit him in the eye.
"We are trying to move on from the incident and look forward to the good things.
"Always, the safety of the players in every workplace has to be secure.
"In general, the passion and support we have had from our supporters all season has been amazing.
"This was an incident, but if you see how the supporters at home and the travelling support, how much they put their lives into the football club, it’s incredible.
"Incidents should not happen, but they happen in all areas of life.
"It was our time to be involved in one, but in general, if you see the whole, it’s an incredible support.”
Meanwhile, Thelin has revealed that he is going to use Crystal Palace's stunning FA Cup triumph over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium last weekend as the blueprint to inspire the Reds to their first Scottish Cup success in 35 years.
Thelin said: "It’s not every year you are in the Scottish Cup final, I think the last one was seven years ago.
"What we have tried to say is that it’s an achievement to arrive in the final, but once you are there, the winner takes it all.
"We have a shared strong belief we can do it, and that is the mindset you have to have.
"Look at other cup finals in Europe this year, a lot of things have happened.
When asked if Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup last weekend showed that anything can happen?
Thelin replied: "Yes, because a final is always a final.
“If you go into the game in the right way, the things you try to do are working then the possibility is always there.
"Will I speak to the players about this? We speak about a lot of things, we have our strategies.
"The thing for me is you can feel everyone is aligned and they have belief and hunger.
"The belief has to be there, you have to dream big and give everything you have to catch this dream.
"I see the spirit in the players, the belief is there, and we’ll give everything we have.
"This is the final game left this season, so we have to try to enjoy this moment.
"It’s been seven years (since Aberdeen were last in the Scottish Cup final), you don’t know when the next time will happen again, so you have to be brave and throw everything you have on the pitch.
"We can do it, so we’re going to give everything we have.
You can feel when a group of players has this or not - and this group has it.
"They really want to catch this moment because they know what it could mean."
