Arabs duo require surgery

Dundee United defensive pair Scott Severin and Darren Dods are both facing an extended absence after being advised they require surgery.

Severin needs further work on an ankle injury and Dods has to have minor surgery to his knee, with both visiting hospital later this week.

"Scott Severin has had an x-ray and he's going to need a wee tidy up on his ankle," manager Peter Houston told The Scotsman. "So that's likely to keep him out for a few weeks more, which is a blow because he's been playing well for us.

"And Darren Dods is also going back to his specialist and there's a chance he'll also need a clean-up job on his knee.

"His options are to leave it for a few weeks to see how it settles down or go for the operation," he continued. "I think he'll opt for the latter one because we don't want to wait another few weeks and find out he needs it anyway.

"It's not the best news from the team's point of view but we'll just have to get on with it. The positives to take from it are that Garry Kenneth and Sean Dillon have been playing well."

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