SEVERIN'S SURGERY IS A BLOW FOR DONS

SCOTT SEVERIN could miss the early weeks of the new season due to a knee injury.

The midfielder, who missed yesterday's 5-0 friendly win at Brian Irvine's Elgin, has been pulled out of the Dons' pre-season tour of South Africa and booked in for surgery on Wednesday.

Boss Jimmy Calderwood said: "Severin had an operation on the same knee when he was with Hearts and it needs a clean-up. He could be out for two or three weeks. It's frustrating he'll miss our tour and the chance to get fit."

Richie Byrne scored a double against City and the other goals came from Chris Clark, Chris Maguire and Darren Mackie.

Calderwood said: "The first two goals came from set-pieces that had been worked on in training and that was satisfying. However, we were sloppy in the first half and could have been punished."

Former Cannes and Toulouse left-back Othmane Hamama was in as a trialist and earned himself a place on the tour.

Calderwood added: "He was caught out by the pace because they don't play like that in France but the lad showed enough to warrant another look."

Steve Lovell was brought down on the edge of the box in the 20th minute and a short free-kick set up Irishman Byrne to score.

Elgin hit a post but Aberdeen's struck in 38 minutes with a replica of the first - only this time it was Clark with the unstoppable shot.

Byrne, in a new midfield role, had an eventful start to the second half. He was booked for a hefty challenge then hit the bar but his graft was rewarded on the hour when he netted at the near post.

Teenage sub Maguire then burst from midfield and coolly beat Keiron Renton before Byrne and Barry Nicholson combined to set up Mackie for No.5.

PETERHEAD - Renton, Kaczan, Dickson, Love, Dempsie, Campbell (Finnigan 54), Hind, Booth (Maim 80), Nelson (Smith 80), Muir (Morrison 69), Johnson (Charlesworth 66. Subs not used: Knight, Gardiner.

ABERDEEN-Soutar, Donald (Diamond 68), Anderson, Considine (Stewart 61), Hamama (Touzani 76)' Foster (Maguire 68), Clark (Nicholson 76), Winter, Byrne, Mackie, Lovell (Crawford 76). Not used: Langfield.

Referee -Mike Ritchie.

Taken from the Daily Record