In the absence of Paolo, however, attention has turned on to when Fredi, who has been out for 10 weeks with a groin problem, will be able to return.
"We have just got to take it slowly with him; people forget it was a complete tear at the start and even eight weeks can be a bit optimistic for a comeback," says club doctor Ges Steinbergs.
"We have to take the player back when symptoms allow; we thought we were winning when he came back to the reserves recently, but it was not to be and we will see how things go the rest of the week.
"It is disappointing that he is still out but he is working hard, as is Don Hutchison."
Scotland boss Berie Vogts says that he will be looking to see Don play in the reserves in the new year, but he should be back in first team contention well before that.
Adds Ges:
"Ideally Don and Fredi would need more time and I think it would be optimistic to expect them back this week but sometimes things that seem bad come out a lot better."
As for Steve Lomas, Ges says:
"Lomy is coming along very well; at first it didn't seem as bad as one would have thought but it has taken a while to settle down as these injuries sometimes do.
"We sometimes underestimate the challenges that the players endure out there; they can look simple injuries but in fact quite often a lot of force goes into them."
Ges, who is with Paolo in Italy, says of his situation:
"We have had cruel blows when we least require them but we will know a bit more about how things lie as the week goes through."