Stuart Kettlewell goes into Ross County’s trip to Queen of the South this weekend with a selection dilemma on his hands.

For the first time this season, the Staggies have a handful of injuries to contend with. Luke McCarvel, Ross Docherty, Andrew Macleod, Lewis Reid, Lewis Jamieson, Adam Forrester and Dean Cornelius are all dealing with issues that, at best, make them doubts for Saturday.

The Staggies were already one short on the substitutes’ bench for last weekend’s win over Montrose, and Kettlewell will be faced with a decision over whether to allow that to happen again – or recall a young player from a co-operative loan.

That comes with its own considerations, as Kettlewell would rather have breakthrough talents playing for their loan clubs to build up minutes and experience.

In the next 24 hours, then, he may have multiple judgement calls to make.

“We will suck it and see over the next 24-48 hours as to whether some of these guys have a chance of making the squad,” Kettlewell said.

“That puts us in a position where it’s a bit of a juggling act. Do we bring back some of the co-operation loans? That’s a difficult one, because a lot of these guys have a chance to play 90 minutes at their loan clubs.

“It’s most important that we’re set, but I need to get the balance right. I’m not taking someone to Queen of the South when they might not get on the pitch and they could play somewhere else. I have to take that ownership for their development.

“Every single young player we have is out on loan. That might have flown under the radar, but we don’t feel the games programme is there for us to keep guys in the building and stockpile them.

“Last season it was like the cast of Ben-Hur with the amount of first team players who were not stripped – it drives me nuts, because it means they’re not playing football.

“Last weekend, we were one short on the bench because I wanted everyone to have the best possible chance to play.

“I get really irked when I see teams that have enough players but don’t fill their bench. If you have a youth academy and only put four players on the bench, what’s the point in having a youth academy?

“With us, it isn’t that we’re not giving them an opportunity, it is just that we feel there are other opportunities for them.

“It’s a judgement call. I wouldn’t go three players light on the bench, but would we go with seven or eight on the bench instead of nine? Yes, we would.”

Kettlewell rotated once more, albeit not to the extend he might have liked because of the injuries, for Tuesday’s final KDM Evolution Trophy league phase match.

That has been a recurring theme of the midweek games for County this season, keeping players fit and sharp.

Given the numbers missing, that could prove vital this weekend with nobody overly rusty ahead of the trip to Dumfries.

"We've got everybody into the best possible place that we can,” Kettlewell added.

"One or two of the guys who have been desperate for minutes were missing from Tuesday night’s game. By and large though, the guys who have been available have got those chances. If we had been playing the same 11 very single game, we would be in a very different situation.

"It was always the intention to be in the best place possible to make changes if we got injuries, or if people came off their level, without dropping our standards as a team."