Key Hearts player doubtful for the trip to Ross County with team news from Riccarton revealed

Tynecastle side head north looking to get their league campaign back on track

Hearts must wait to learn whether midfielder Cammy Devlin is available for Saturday’s Premiership trip to Ross County. The Australian is rated doubtful at the moment after feeling unwell and being withdrawn at half-time during Tuesday night’s Viaplay Cup win at Kilmarnock.

Devlin suffered a head injury against St Mirren last weekend and clashed heads with Kilmarnock’s Kyle Magennis late in the first half in midweek. He will be given until the last possible minute to prove himself ready.

“The only one is Cammy,” head coach Steven Naismith told the Evening News. “He wasn't feeling great at half-time on Tuesday. Obviously, he got a blow to the head in the St Mirren game, then he came off at half-time not feeling great against Kilmarnock. I think he took a knock in the first half. We will see how he is.”

Devlin’s compatriot, right-back Nathaniel Atkinson, has been ruled out for at least two months after scans confirmed ankle ligament damage. He fell awkwardly in the defeat at St Mirren and Odel Offiah or Toby Sibbick are poised to step in on the right side of defence in Dingwall.

Naismith is eager for three points to improve Hearts’ away record. “After the St Mirren game, I said that I was pleased we had two away games coming up this week,” he said. “The away form a big question which has been asked of us. I believe we can go anywhere and get a good performance as well as a good result. I think we showed that on Tuesday.

“I feel we played most of the good stuff and scored two goals of really good quality. If we can finish the week off with another good performance at another tricky away venue and get the points, then it has been a good end after a difficult start to the week.”

Hearts must decide whether to play Alex Lowry from the start following his late winning goal as a substitute in the 2-1 win at Rugby Park. “The second goal comes from three subs being on the pitch and having an impact. Odel plays the ball through initially, Liam Boyce is involved and Alex gets the goal. It’s pleasing that we have guys who started the night disappointed at not being in the team, but they had the professionalism and desire to go on and make a difference. I’m delighted with that.

The Hearts management team of Steven Naismith, Frankie McAvoy and Gordon Forrest. Pic: SNS

“There was a lot of praise for Jorge Grant after the game, but it is a collective thing. I’ve told the players that there will be times throughout the season when their minutes are maybe lower than others’, but have no doubt there will be a period when each player has their moment to contribute to what will hopefully be a successful campaign.

“Another thing I’ve said consistently is that each game has different needs. It’s not so much what a player has done in the game before. We will come up against a Ross County team which plays differently to Kilmarnock. For us to create chances and be a threat, the needs of Saturday’s game are different to Tuesday’s.”

Kyosuke Tagawa has an outside chance of making the squad after a recent injury complaint. Yutaro Oda, Alex Cochrane, Barrie McKay, Craig Gordon and Craig Halkett are all out through different injury-related issues.