Hamilton Accies hit by virus ahead of Edinburgh City clash as boss reveals doubtful players

John Rankin has revealed a virus has hit the Hamilton Accies squad ahead of Saturday’s clash with bottom of the table Edinburgh City.

And the Accies gaffer admits he is sweating on the fitness of a few players as they prepare to welcome the capital club to New Douglas Park.

They go into the game off a thumping 5-0 win at Kelty Hearts last weekend, which has kept them on course for a second place finish in League One behind runaway leaders Falkirk who are 17 points clear.

But it remains to be seen who will be fit enough to face The Citizens.

Rankin said: “We have had a few players feeling like they have a bit of a virus. Some players are feeling really cold then really sweaty, so there is something going about.

“Lee Kilday, Stephen Hendrie, and Marley Redfern have all struggled with that and we have a few knocks from Saturday to concern ourselves with as well.

“We haven’t got anyone in the squad that we can completely rule out at the moment, but we have a few doubts.

“That makes things a bit tougher in terms of preparation. You’d rather know if someone is definitely going to be missing or not, but we’ll need to see how it goes with certain players.”

Accies were held to a 1-1 draw by Edinburgh last time the sides met at New Douglas Park in October, but they did enjoy a thumping 5-2 win on the road in December.

On Saturday’s clash, Rankin said: “We had a result last weekend that was a good result but we know that Edinburgh City have got a lot of young players trying to forge a career for themselves.

“We saw that they got a [2-2] draw with Falkirk a few weeks ago and they drew with us earlier in the season as well, so they are difficult and sturdy.

“We need to make sure we finish the season strongly and put a run together.

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