Goodwin confirmed that Moult’s groin injury is nothing severe.

Jim Goodwin rates Louis Moult as “50-50” for Dundee United’s Championship clash with Queen’s Park after confirming the striker’s groin complaint is “nothing serious”.

The Tannadice boss withdrew Moult as “a precaution” during United’s 1-0 win over Inverness at the weekend, with Goodwin praising the player’s experience and nous to swiftly inform the bench when he felt pain.

United medical staff are content with how Moult has responded to treatment and, while a decision regarding his availability to face the Spiders will be made later this week, Goodwin has sought to calm any fears regarding his fitness.

“We took Louis off in time,” said Goodwin. “He just felt something and we weren’t willing to take any risks. He probably could have stayed on for a bit longer and tried to play through it but then you run the risk of something serious happening.

So we took him off more as a precaution than anything else. The medical team were pretty happy with it on Tuesday morning; it’s nothing serious.

“I think there’s a good chance he could be available for the weekend, although it’s probably 50/50 at the moment. But it’s certainly not something that’ll keep him out for a long time. That’s for sure.

“We’ll just be sensible with it, like with any muscle strain, and make a decision later in the week.”

He added: “A younger player might have tried to stay on and not mention it, but Louis had the experience to say straight away that he felt something — and there was nothing else in our mind but to get him off and protect him.”

Tony Watt: Best performance yet?

And Goodwin was fulsome in his praise for Tony Watt, who ran himself into the ground after replacing Moult — particularly impressing after the Tangerines were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Jordan Tillson.

Watt worked the channels, held up possession and showed intelligent movement to take up a couple of dangerous positions, with only a fine Mark Ridgers stop denying him a first United goal since January.

And should Moult be forced to sit out this weekend, Goodwin would have no fears about relying upon the former Motherwell, Hearts and Celtic man.

“I thought that was probably Tony’s best performance of the season,” continued Goodwin.

“For the 65 minutes he was on the pitch, I thought he was absolutely excellent. He worked really hard for the team, led the line and maintained possession of the ball, which is what you want from a No.9.

“He was really unlucky with a couple of opportunities. You need to credit Mark Ridgers for a top save when Tony didn’t do much wrong.”

Goodwin added: “Tony isn’t a million miles away and, although there is more to his game than goals, he wants to score, create and have that end product. But we all recognise the job he is doing for the team.

“I said to him at the beginning of the season that he’ll be a big player for us and that is the case. I’ve got two very, very good strikers in Tony and Louis.”

Ross Docherty return

Meanwhile, Goodwin acknowledged in the immediate aftermath of United’s win in the Highlands that the selection of skipper Ross Docherty had been “a calculated risk”.

Making his first start since August 26 after battling a hamstring strain — and initially expected to be out for longer — a shattered Docherty was withdrawn after 80 minutes on Saturday.

“Doc is okay,” updated Goodwin. “He’s a bit tired; a bit leggy, especially after being out for that period of time and coming in to a game like that, where it was intense and high-tempo.

“We were delighted with his performance and the fact he was able to get those minutes. He’ll be far better for it.”