Saints signing Alvarez could miss start of season

Summer St Johnstone signing Unax Alvarez is likely to miss the start of their Premier Sports Cup campaign after picking up an injury during pre-season. The 24-year-old winger, signed from Deportivo Guadalajara after their relegation from Spain's third tier, twisted his ankle in last week's 4-0 friendly win over Forfar Athletic. Head coach Simo Valakari told Saints TV: "But the good news is nothing is broken. "It is just a twisted ligament, so it will be a couple of weeks unfortunately." There is more chance of defender Morgan Boyes and forward Louis Lloyd making the group stage opener against Linlithgow Rose on Tuesday, 14 July. "Louis, the good news, MRI is clear, so I hope him in some capacity will join the team training next week," Valakari said. "And same with Morgan Boyes. He's been working very hard, already on the field with our physios. "I think he will take some part in football training next week." St Johnstone continued their preparations with a 3-0 win away to League 1 side Montrose on Saturday, but Valakari gave much of the credit to 21-year-old goalkeeper Craig Hepburn. "We all need to thank Heppy, our goalkeeper - he was fantastic," he said. "He made the saves. He kept us in the game and that's why we have three good goalkeepers." Nevertheless, Valakari added that he was confident the "commitment, attitude, their ownership, responsibility for the team, it's there and that gives us the foundation to be successful".