Aberdeen teenager Fraser Fyvie faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after tests revealed he suffered ankle ligament damage in Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Hibernian.

The 16-year-old was carried off on a stretcher following a challenge by Ian Murray at Easter Road.

Dons manager Mark McGhee explained: "Fraser has had his X-ray and it would appear there is no breakage.

"There is certainly ligament damage, which can be a lengthy process. The prognosis is for about four to six weeks."

Fyvie was injured shortly before Hibs netted two late goals to deny nine-man Aberdeen a Clydesdale Bank Premier League point following red cards for Maurice Ross and Chris Maguire.

"Fraser has been important in the way we have played, in the last three games in particular," McGhee told RedTV.

"We are all disappointed for him, at this early stage in his career, he is just getting started.

"But it's an injury that will fix itself and he'll be back."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen could find themselves in trouble with the Scottish Football Association after their club website carried fierce criticism of referee Steven Nicholls' display in Leith.

In an unattributed article entitled 'Is common sense too much to hope for?', Nicholls was accused of "short-changing" the large travelling support.

The statement claimed Nicholls, who issued a total of eight yellow cards, seemed "blindly determined to stamp his authority right from the off".

The comments on www.afc.co.uk continued: "When cards are being dished out like confetti, players become afraid to make tackles for fear of reprisal, and that's exactly what occurred in Edinburgh.

"Nine against eleven (perhaps make that twelve!) for the best part of half an hour means an unequal situation and one that is cheating the fans who pay good money to watch a competitive and balanced encounter.

"The sending off of a player should be a last resort not, what it appeared to be against Hibs, something the referee seemed hell bent on achieving almost straight from the kick-off.

"And if match officials are being given little or no leeway to adopt a common sense approach, then that needs to be seriously looked at by the powers that be, and sooner rather than later."

Earlier this year, Hearts were fined £20,000 over criticism of referee Dougie McDonald in their official website's match report on their Scottish Cup defeat by Falkirk.

The comments triggered a suspended fine from two years earlier, which followed a statement on the website by majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.