Raith Rovers: Ian Murray hopeful of sealing short term deal for free agent former loanee Kyle Connell

Striker Connell, 21, scored twice in 23 games on loan from Kilmarnock this season prior to his Rovers loan ending on January 10 and he has now been released by Killie.

"We are going to speak to Kyle again later on in the week,” Murray – speaking ahead of Rovers’ trip to Queen’s Park in the SPFL Trust Trophy quarter-finals, kick-off 7.45pm tonight (Wednesday) told the Fife Free Press. “We had a brief chat last week and more chats this week.

"It’s a really hard one for Kyle because he’s played for two clubs so he’s kind of stuck in a bit of limbo really and it’s a shame because I like Kyle.

"The rules are a wee bit bizarre if you ask me because he only played five minutes for Kilmarnock in the league cup which kind of killed him from playing anywhere else.

"We will sit down with him this week and see where we all are.

"Obviously we would like to do something but we also have to appreciate that money is very tight.

"We would probably be looking at a short term thing for both parties and see where we are in the summer.”

Ahead of this Saturday’s Championship visit to Cove Rangers, kick-off 3pm, Murray has been boosted by scan results on knee injuries sustained by Sam Stanton and Kieron Ngwenya which show no structural damage.

"It’s just a pain threshold thing for them,” Murray said. “We will look to ease them back in as soon as we can."

Fellow injury victim Ethan Ross got an injection on Tuesday to aid his recovery, with Murray adding: “I don’t envisage Ethan training with us this week, maybe next week if he feels OK."