MORTON have cancelled their glamour friendly against Premier League new-boys Cardiff City after seeing their squad "decimated" by early-season injuries.

The Cappielow outfit were scheduled to host the Bluebirds next Tuesday, however the plug was pulled on the clash following crunch talks amid fears Ray McKinnon would be forced to field a second string side.

The likes of Kerr Waddell, Denny Johnstone and Robert Thomson were all absent for Morton’s 2-0 win over Stenhousemuir in the Betfred Cup on Saturday, while Chris Millar was withdrawn complaining of a tight hamstring.

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Things went from bad to worse when promising defender Lewis Strapp was ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a broken toe against Stenhousemuir.

A Morton statement confirmed: “Manager Ray McKinnon has seen his playing squad decimated by a number of injuries, resulting in the decision to call off the match.”

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock added: “Obviously we’re disappointed that the fixture won’t be taking place as we were looking forward to the test. Unfortunately, Greenock have been struggling with injuries and I didn’t want us to go there and face anything less than what we’d consider as being a strong first-team eleven.”

Meanwhile, McKinnon admits he is gutted after seeing 18-year-old Strapp condemned to a long spell on the sidelines.

He added: “It has turned out that Lewis has broken his toe, which we are all disappointed about.

“He’s a young kid trying to make his mark and has been pushing for a place in the team and getting an opportunity, so it’s unfortunate this has happened at this time in the season.

“It happened very late in the game on Saturday. He went into a tackle and must have caught his toe and broke it there and then. To be fair to him, he played on for the next 10 minutes!

“But when he got the X-ray it turned out it was broken, so he’s going to be out for at least four to six weeks. I’m really disappointed for him.”