StIRLING Albion boss Stuart McLaren was dealt a blow ahead of their crunch match with relegation rivals Ayr United at the weekend after it was confirmed striker Steven Doris is facing an extended spell on the sidelines.

The former Arbroath forward, who joined the club from Dundee in the summer, hasn’t featured since the 4-3 defeat to Morton back on 27 December, due to a stomach muscle injury.

Now it seems that injury is worse than first feared after it emerged that the striker may now need to undergo surgery to alleviate the problem.

But the Binos boss was quick to play down the weekend’s clash as a ‘must win’ game against their fellow League One strugglers.

McLaren said: “Ayr is obviously a big game. I wouldn’t say it is necessarily a must win game because there are still a lot of points to be played for, but I think it’s fair to say it’s a ‘must not lose’.

“They have a new manager in Ian McCall as well as a few new players since we last faced them.

“It’s hard to believe we still haven’t won at home considering home close we have come, but there are still 13 games left this season and the players keep bouncing back.

“We can take confidence from our last game at league leaders Stranraer because we were the better team for much of the second half before losing out to a late goal.” The Forthbank side are also likely to be without Graham Weir for the clash, who is also yet to feature in 2015, as he is still struggling with a groin problem, but Darren Lee Smith is making good progress following knee surgery and is expected to return to action later this month.

The next game for the Binos is against Ayr United at Forthbank on Saturday and it’s a vital one for both clubs.

The Honest Men are six points in front of Stirling Albion, with a game in hand, and were 3-1 winners when the two sides met back in August.

Albion looked to have gained revenge at Somerset Park just before Christmas when Doris (pictured) bagged a double after Alan Forrest had opened the scoring, but Craig Beattie came off the bench to net a last-minute leveller in a 2-2 draw.

United have since appointed Ian McCall as their new manager in place of Mark Roberts and he has made a number of changes to the Somerset Park squad.

Ayr’s scheduled match with Airdrie suffered the same fate as Albion’s at the weekend as their home pitch was deemed frozen, so both sides will desperate to get back to action.

Admission prices for Saturday’s game are £13 for adults, £8 for seniors & students, £5 for U16s and FREE for U12s!

Meanwhile, Saturday’s postponed League 1 game against Morton at Cappielow has been rearranged by the SPFL for Tuesday March 3, with a 7.30pm kick-off.