Hibs star Hogg hit by eyesight trauma

MIXU PAATELAINEN today revealed how defender Chris Hogg ruled himself out of Hibs' Pittodrie win after suffering problems with his eyesight.

Although he had played in all four matches since, Hogg has been struggling since the Easter Road outfit's shock Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat by Morton during which he was the victim of a heavy charge in the back by Eric Paartalu which sent him crashing to the ground.

Ironically, the incident led to referee Iain Brines awarding Morton a free-kick which resulted in their fourth and winning goal. Although Hogg bravely tried to play his way through the problem, he was finally forced to admit defeat for fear of letting himself and his team-mates down.

Paatelainen said: "Chris has been struggling since that challenge when he was concussed. Since then he has had headaches and whenever it's a bright day he's had difficulty with his eyesight.

"He told me he felt it would gradually fade away but it hasn't. Chris said it began to affect his training and in some matches, like the Rangers game which was played on a really bright day, he wasn't able to judge the flight of the ball in the air properly.

"All credit to Chris for being determined to play in every game but he felt he would let the people around him and himself down if he went to Pittodrie so he didn't even travel with the squad."

Hogg has already consulted a specialist and the advice was total rest for ten days which coincides with Hibs having no SPL match this weekend as Scotland take on Norway at Hampden in their latest World Cup qualifying tie.

Paatelainen said: "The doctor said it's very likely the effect from that concussion, that Chris needs to relax and take it easy for ten days or so.

"The important thing is we make sure Chris takes care of himself, that he does what the doctors says and comes back 100 per cent."

Sol Bamba dropped into central defence alongside skipper Rob Jones against Aberdeen and although the star from the Ivory Coast conceded a soft penalty as he collided with the Dons' Lee Miller, Paatelainen was as delighted with his back line as he was the 2-1 win which lifted Hibs to fourth in the SPL table.

He said: "For the first 20 minutes or so of the second half we were under pressure but I felt the defence was solid and organised.

"It was like the Hamilton game when we found ourselves under pressure, the boys knew exactly what to do, they were close to each other, helping each other out and we defended fantastically."

The victory was Hibs' first at Pittodrie for three years and the first time the Edinburgh club had clocked up back-to-back away wins in the League for the same period, another cause for satisfaction as far as Paatelainen was concerned after two goals from Derek Riordan, his second from another highly controversial penalty award by referee Mike McCurry earned the points.

He said: "We realise it's important to win away from home rather than have to rely on our form at Easter Road, you must pick up points elsewhere."

Meanwhile, Moroccan goalkeeper Khalid Sinouh, who has been on trial for the past week at Hibs' training ground, will get his chance to show what he can do in a closed-doors match against Livingston on Thursday.

The match has been advertised by the West Lothian club as being open to fans but Paatelainen was today adamant the game will be played in private.

Two goals from Patrick Deane saw Hibs go six points clear at the top of the Under-19 table as they defeated Rangers, who were reduced to nine men, 2-1 at the weekend.