Brian Rice confirmed Hamilton captain Brian Easton will be offered a new contract while revealing the season is over for injured duo Andy Winter and Shaun Want.

Attacker Winter picked up a cartilage injury in the warm up before the goalless draw against Aberdeen last week and could require an operation while defender Want, out since October with a thigh injury, will start looking to next season for his comeback.

Ahead of the trip to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, Accies boss Rice said: “Andy Winter’s is serious, Andy’s is a cartilage, we have seen the specialist and now we have to determine what is the best thing for him to do.

“Worst case scenario he needs an operation. He needs to get something done to it, we are not sure of the timescale but Andy’s season is done.

“Shaun Want’s season is done, he has seen a specialist as well so he needs to start preparing for pre-season.

“Brian Easton got a scan (knee), we are going to see how he is today. He has not trained since the match last Saturday.

“Nathan Thomas won’t figure, he will be out for quite a while, he injured the ankle he hurt previously in his first game back, and we know Marios Ogkmpoe is out.

“Lewis Smith is still not training and it will be next season before David Templeton is back so we don’t have our problems to seek but we have 17/18 bodies all ready to go.”

On a more positive note Rice, whose side are one point above bottom side Kilmarnock with a game in hand, confirmed Easton will be offered a new contract.

The 33-year-old defender started his career with Hamilton and returned for a third spell in May, 2019, after also playing for Burnley, Dundee and St Johnstone.

Easton’s contract is up in the summer but Rice said: “Brian is getting offered a new deal. Not just on the pitch but off the pitch, Brian has done fantastically well for us.

“Brian is a role model. He is playing most weeks in the Premiership and it is about dedication, looking after yourself properly.

“He was here then went away to England and played and came back and ended up back here, captain of the team.

“He is someone I put a lot of trust in and he knows he needs to lead the young lads by example and that is something he does.”

Accies have lost once in six games while David Martindale’s Livingston are without a win in six, with only one draw amid that dip in form.

However, Easton is bracing himself for a tough test from the Betfred Cup finalists.

He said: “If we get a win it will give us more breathing space (over Kilmarnock) but Livingston will be up for this game

“No matter what form they are in, you know what you are going to get and you need to stand up to it and need to deal with it and go and cause them problems.

“We are under no illusions how difficult this is going to be.”