Extent of Michael Smith injury revealed as Hearts right-back misses Accies match

The Northern Ireland full-back will be sidelined for around ten days with a hamstring strain suffered against Celtic on Sunday.

That leaves him touch and go for Northern Ireland’s upcoming matches against Luxembourg and Germany. He was named in manager Michael O’Neill’s squad on Wednesday. For Hearts, he will miss the weekend fixture at Tynecastle Park but should be fit to resume domestic duty after the international break.

Smith was replaced 18 minutes into the 3-1 defeat by Celtic and replaced by Jamie Brandon. He had been feeling tightness in his hamstring in the days leading up to the game, which began to worsen during the early stages of the match.

Medical staff assessed the injury and the positive news it is not serious. Expectations are that the 30-year-old will miss only one club game, which is some relief given Hearts’ increasing injury problems in the early part of the season.

Jamie Walker, Peter Haring, Joel Pereira, John Souttar, Craig Wighton and Ben Garuccio are all currently sidelined with injuries. However, Steven Naismith should return from his own hamstring problem against Hamilton.