Tommy Wright will be moving back into the transfer market after Kilmarnock were rocked by a double injury blow ahead of today's trip to Hamilton Accies.
The Rugby Park boss confirmed captain Chris Stokes (hamstring) and on-loan Middlesbrough forward Rumarn Burrell (ankle) face long spells on the sidelines.
Stokes limped off during last Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup while Burrell broke down in training ahead of the Easter Road showdown.
Killie return to cinch Championship action this afternoon with a visit to Accies who have appointed Stuart Taylor as their new manager although he will watch from this game from the stands.
Wright said: "Stokesy will be out for around six to eight weeks. It's quite a bad one with his hamstring.
"As for Rumarn, we got his ankle scanned and he has gone back to Middlesbrough for treatment. They may have to do an operation and if they do, we will be looking at 12 weeks being out.
"The best scenaro if he doesn't need an op would be eight to 12 weeks. Those two players are out for the foreseeable future. Everybody else is fine, there are no issues. Fraser Murray is back in the squad.
"[Chris's injury] is a blow but when we were signing players for the club, but you can't achieve anything or have any measure of success unless you have a good squad; and we have a good squad.
"We have able replacements to come in and one or two options. We've tried to have two people for every position so we don't feel injuries, suspensions or even loss of form."
When asked if more new faces were on the way before the transfer window closes, Wright replied: "Yes.
"I'm still looking at the top end of the pitch and there will be definitely one coming in before the end of the window. When that is, I couldn't put a date on it."
Reflecting on Killie's perfect start to the league season – two clean-sheet wins over Ayr United and Queen of the South – the gaffer continued: "It has been a satisfying start but it is only a start.
"We had to work extremely hard to get over the line against Ayr even though we dominated the game. Against Queen of the South, it was a typical game we thought we would experience away from home.
"They were dogged, there weren't many chances in the game but we came up with a bit of quality in the end."
Wright said: "First and foremost, we concentrate on ourselves. We have a couple of reports on them.
"We know the players but we don't know what input the new manager will have. Whatever happens, we will adapt, and if they change their system, we will soon find out.
"It's early stages and there is a lot of football to be played between now and when the prizes are given out."
Meanwhile, veteran winger Chris Burke says Killie must 'react to the reaction' as he expects Accies to be fired up following Rice's departure and Taylor's installation.
He said: "I wish Brian Rice all the best as he was one of my tutors for the A [coaching] licence so I hope to see him back in the game soon. He has a lot of knowledge and has given me a lot of knowledge.
"When you get a new manager, you tend to get a reaction from the group. More often that not, it tends to be a positive reaction.
"I think what we have to do is react to the reaction. That's really important. As much as people will say Hamilton haven't had a good start, it's a long season and they are still a good team."
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