Hearts injury update on Barrie McKay and Alex Cochrane with estimates on when they will return

Tynecastle duo still have a fair bit of rehabilitating to do before they can play again

Hearts defender Alex Cochrane and winger Barrie McKay are estimated to return from injury in late October or early November. Both players have taken small steps forward in their respective recovery programmes but are not close to resuming training at Riccarton.

Cochrane no longer requires a protective boot on the ankle he damaged whilst blocking a shot at training earlier this month. McKay is now out of the brace put on the knee he injured last month in the Europa Conference League play-off against PAOK Salonika at Tynecastle Park.

Steven Naismith, the Hearts head coach, is cautious about exactly when the pair will be back in maroon shirts. He is keen to let them recover and rehabilitate fully rather than rush the process. “The two of them are still a while away. They had more severe injuries and require a much longer period of rest to let inflammation and swelling go down,” Naismith told the Evening News.

“Alex came out of his protective boot last week and Baz has just come out of his brace. They will still have quite a bit of time in the rehabilitation department before we see them out on the training pitch with us.

“It’s possible that they could be back next month but that’s the finer detail. When you see them back out on the grass, then you realise they are only maybe a week or 10 days away so you can factor them into your team plans. We are not at that stage yet.”