John Souttar has been ruled out for the rest of the season but his Achilles injury is not as bad as first feared.

The young defender faced the prospect of a full year on the sidelines after landing awkwardly during his team's 4-0 defeat to Celtic on Sunday.

The 20-year-old is now hoping to be back in action this summer, however, as he prepares to undergo surgery.

Souttar told the club's website: "There's positives and negatives to take from the situation.

"On the bright side, I'm not spending a year on the sidelines. However, I'm still gutted that I won't get to finish the rest of the campaign.

"It's been a good season for me up until this point as I had been playing every week but I'll just use that as motivation to get back to fitness and win my place back in the team."

He added: "I've got the likes of Callum Paterson and Sam Nicholson who will be able to offer me advice on long-term injuries and I know I'll have the support of everyone at the club.

"Now we just get the operation out of the way and aim for returning in pre-season a stronger and better player."