Northern Ireland and St Mirren star set for surgery while teammate predicts ex-Irish League youngster will be 'machine' in Scotland
Northern Ireland star Conor McMenamin is set for a spell on the sidelines after St Mirren confirmed he will undergo surgery for a patella tendon injury.
McMenamin joined the Paisley outfit from Glentoran last summer and made 27 Premiership appearances as Stephen Robinson’s side booked their spot in Europe for the first time since 1987 – they’ll face either Valur of Iceland or KF Vllaznia from Albania in UEFA Conference League second round qualifying later this month.
The 28-year-old also added to his international cap tally against Spain last month, coming on as a late substitute for Isaac Price during the 5-1 defeat in Palma, but St Mirren announced on Wednesday that McMenamin has suffered a recurrence of the same injury that hampered him for spells in his maiden campaign in Scotland.
He’s now set to miss the opening stages of next season with Robinson’s men getting their league campaign underway against Hibernian on August 4.
The Irish League connection with St Mirren has continued to get even stronger this summer with former Dungannon Swifts youngster Oisin Smyth joining from Oxford United.
He has linked up with McMenamin and Northern Ireland international Caolan Boyd-Munce, who both represented Glentoran, in the playing squad while ex-Crusaders striker Diarmuid O’Carroll serves as assistant manager to Lisburn-born Robinson.
Smyth made 17 appearances across two seasons with the League One club and Boyd-Munce is backing the 24-year-old to make an immediate impact in his new surroundings.
"Oisin will slot in perfectly here,” he told the club’s media channel. “You can see already about the place that everybody has taken to him, which I had no doubt about.
"He was my midfield partner with Northern Ireland U21s for a while. He’s a cracking player, a machine, can run and he’s going to bring a bit of quality in the middle alongside that power. The fans will love him.
"I spoke to him quite regularly anyway from our U21 days and he took the leap to come across the water which is a big thing for us boys to leave home and start somewhere else, so I’ve always kept in contact with him.
"Once I knew there was a chance for him coming here, it was a no-brainer. He asked about how he would fit in and I knew he would fit perfectly.
"It’s the same for all teams, but because we’re all so close and have lost a lot of big personalities off the pitch, it’s nice to have the time as soon as pre-season started to get to know the other boys, what’s going on in their lives and it’s nice.”