LIAM BUCHANAN has admitted that he is no better than 50-50 to make Partick Thistle's derby with Clyde at Firhill tomorrow.

Buckie has been playing through the pain barrier for the last month after the groin injury that forced him under the knife last summer flared up again.

The Firhill fans' favourite has revealed that he will have a meeting with a specialist next week in order to decide whether he may require a second round of surgery.

Buchanan said: "Things are not great right now. I haven't been able to train all week and I have been feeling increasingly restricted in my movement and am starting to get a bit more discomfort with the injury.

"I have been able to soldier through so far and the gaffer has been hooking me early in the second half most weeks, but now I am at a stage where, if I'm honest then my chances are no better than 50/50 of starting.

"It may be that my best chance will be off the bench. But I will keep doing the physiotherapy and taking the anti-inflammatories and do everything I can to make myself available.

"This is the business end of the season and I am desperate to be playing and scoring for Thistle. The last thing I want is to miss the last derby of the season.

"I am booked in to see a specialist next Wednesday and a decision will be made then whether I need a scan to get to the bottom of this.

"It is just very frustrating because I thought after the first operation I would be hitting my best form about now and really be making an impact."

Despite his injury woes and the fact he is regularly hooked around the 60-minute mark, Buckie has still managed to contribute six goals, with two of these coming in the last four games.

Buchanan's misery has only been compounded by the fact that he has struck up a promising partnership with Firhill new boy Kris Doolan over recent weeks that seemed set to play a crucial role for Thistle down the final stretch of the campaign.

Buchanan said: "I have really enjoyed playing with Kris and I feel like we have pretty much hit it off in terms of becoming a partnership.

"Maybe at the start we needed to iron a few things out in terms of timing our runs and stuff but that has definitely come.

"I think Kris has done amazingly well to make the impact he has since he signed from the Juniors and the more games we have been getting together the better the understanding between us has become. But we will have to wait and see if I can partner him tomorrow against Clyde."

Thistle face a season-defining four-game stretch that will see them host Clyde, then travel to Ross County on Tuesday and Dunfermline next Saturday.

Next comes a visit from third-placed Dundee a fortnight on Sunday. Buchanan admits their fate will probably be decided in the next couple of weeks.

He said: "We have got ourselves into a great position just three points off St Johnstone and they have a tough one with Ross County on Tuesday as well.

"But with us being away to County and Dunfermline in the next week where we have not done well in recent times, this is probably going to be the spell in the season that decides our fate.

"That is why it is vital we get as many fans out as possible at Firhill tomorrow and that they get right behind us from the start."