Stuart Findlay out injured for Kilmarnock 'is the equivalent of Carter-Vickers out for Celtic' says McInes

"He's almost been perfect for us, he's the equivalent of Cameron Carter-Vickers being out of the Celtic team, that's how big of an influence he is."

Derek McInnes has not understated how "big a blow" Stuart Findlay's injury for Kilmarnock is.

The manager confirmed the defender could be set for up to six months on the sidelines, depending on scan results, for the injury sustained in the defeat to Dundee on Sunday, but he stressed his side will "just need to deal with it".

"It's a blow for us, he's a big player, a defender who plays every week for me," McInnes said as he previewed Killie's weekend game with Celtic.

"It's a real blow for us, but we need to deal with losing important players at some stage in the season."

McInnes said "worse case scenario" Findlay could be out for up to six months, but, if a favourable outcome develops it could be a third of that.

"It could be the difference of maybe seven or eight weeks depending on the scan, so it could be from two to three months to four to six months, potentially for the worst case scenario," he added.

"Managers will have to deal with coping without key players and there's no point in crying about it, we just need to deal with it.

"He's almost been perfect for us. He's the equivalent of Cameron Carter-Vickers being out of the Celtic team, that's how big of an influence he is.

"Losing key players in key positions, it's up for others now to go and step in and take on that responsibility that he's shown for us since he came to the club."