Double defensive boost for Accies pair

Hamilton Accies' boss Billy Reid has expressed his delight by the news defenders Chris Swailes and Mark McLaughlin are now fully fit.

A medial knee ligament injury which required surgery has sidelined McLaughlin since August 23. However he featured for 68 minutes of the reserve side's 1-0 defeat against Rangers on Monday and is close to a first-team comeback.

Fellow central defender Swailes is also fit after missing the weekend defeat to Motherwell with a hamstring strain and both men could now feature in Saturday's home game against Falkirk.

Reid, whose side are currently sitting at the bottom of the SPL, told the Daily Record: "We will assess Mark's fitness over the next couple of days but he isn't far away. It looks as if Chris could be okay as well.

"These are two guys who started the season for us so it would be good to have them back.

"Injuries have gone against us and so have decisions. Some of them have been chronic."