Derry City's Patrick McEleney waiting on extent of hamstring injury

Candy Stripes boss Ruaidhri Higgins has confirmed the talented Shantallow man will undergo a scan to assess an injury sustained in the scoreless draw against St Patrick's Athletic at the Brandywell on Monday night.

Whether or not it's a recurrence of the injury which ended his season last summer when playing for Dundalk remains to be seen but Higgins is hoping to receive good news from the scan.

"We'll have to see," said Higgins. "He's felt his hamstring there so we'll get him scanned and see what comes back."

McEleney played his first 90 minutes of football for Derry this season against Bohemians last Friday night and Higgins admits he didn't want to call upon his talismanic midfielder just three days later.

However, with Derry struggling to unlock the Saints defence despite their total dominance, Higgins introduced McEleney as a 67th minute substitute. And his introduction had the desired effect with Derry stepping up the gears while McEleney struck the foot of the post with a terrific strike from distance.

Less than 20 minutes after coming on he pulled up with an injury and was walked off the pitch by Derry physio Michael Hegarty much to the despair of the home attendance.

The injury compounded Derry's woes after a frustrating night and Higgins was left cursing his luck.

"He was brilliant when he came on. We would've liked not to have used him tonight but he felt good all weekend. He got his first 90 minutes the other night and felt physically good and strong and was ready. It happens.

"He's a big player for us and you could see his quality when he came on. He was absolutely exceptional when he came on the pitch. But we'll see what comes back from the scan."