St Mirren will have to cope without Mo Camara as he undergoes surgery.

St Mirren defender Mo Camara could be out of action for up to six weeks after manager Gus MacPherson confirmed he will undergo a cartilage operation later this week. The full-back is still experiencing pain after initially picking up the injury in pre-season. He missed Saturday's game at Pittodrie and is set to be sidelined for several more weeks as he prepares to go under the knife in the coming days. MacPherson said: "It stems back to an injury he picked up in a pre-season game against Wigan and he will have surgery this week. It's hard to say at the moment how long he will be out for until the extent of the damage is known. But we are hoping it will be a standard cartilage operation and he will be out for between four to six weeks."

Saints head to Kilmarnock in the third round of the Co-operative Insurance Cup tonight hoping for another win following their SPL game at Rugby Park last month. Killie were without star striker Kevin Kyle through injury on that occasion but MacPherson insists there is more to the Ayrshire club than their skipper. He said: "He is a good player and there is a lot of attention on him. But the rest of the players will be desperate to prove it's not just about Kevin Kyle. The whole team played well against Rangers at the weekend and they will be boosted not only by the performance but also by taking a point from the game. Kevin Kyle is a top-class player but he is not just a target man, he brings other players into the game as well. There are other threats in the Kilmarnock team as well as him."

Saints returned from Pittodrie empty-handed following a controversial free-kick decision by referee Craig Thomson, which led to Aberdeen's winner, before Lee Mair was sent-off. Steve Conroy also hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons for two harsh red cards for Pedro Mendes and Manuel Pascali, and numerous other bookings, as Kilmarnock and Rangers battled out a goalless draw. But MacPherson insists both camps will be more interested in the performances of their own players, rather than the display of official Dougie McDonald. He said: "There has been plenty of talk over the weekend about referees but Jim Jefferies will be saying the same thing to his players as me - just focus on the game and concentrate on your own performance. It has all the makings of a good cup tie."

Meanwhile, midfielder Allan Johnston has joined St Mirren until the end of this season. He has been a free agent since leaving Kilmarnock in the summer. McPherson has had a good chance to evaluate what Johnston can bring to his squad as he has been training with the Buddies since pre-season. Johnston, who has been capped 18 times for Scotland, started his career with Hearts before joining French side Rennes in 1996. He returned to Sunderland a year later and subsequently had loan spells with Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers.

Johnston joined Rangers in 2000 but 14 months later he was on the move again, this time to Middlesbrough after the Ibrox club accepted a £600,000 transfer bid for him. The midfielder spent three seasons at the Riverside Stadium which included a loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday during the 2002/03 season. Johnston moved to Kilmarnock during the summer of 2005 but had a troubled time through injury before his departure.

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