It has been far from an easy ride for Steven Naismith and his Hearts squad with several long-term injury concerns seeing the likes of Craig Gordon and Craig Halkett in the medical suite for near-on a year. To make matters worse, shortly after the season commenced, Barrie McKay and Nathaniel Atkinson joined them with the latter suffering an ankle injury against St Mirren.
While initially this may have been of less concern given the inclusion of fellow right-back Odel Offiah in the group, the Brighton loanee has been forced to return to his parent club amid ongoing health concerns and Naismith has admitted he is aware the January transfer window offers an opportunity to strengthen what has become a depleted position.
Speaking to Edinburgh News, the Hearts gaffer said: "We do need to strengthen the right-back position, especially with Odel's situation. We need to recruit in that department. In the forward areas, there is a bit we could potentially look at but it's not urgent."
While fans await to see who the Jambos could target in the upcoming transfer season, here are ten right-backs available in the pool of free agents that Hearts could snap up right away...
9. Federioc Mattiello - £300k
28-year-old Matiello spent much of his youth career with Juventus and was most recently part of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie. | Getty Images
10. Richard Tait - £350k
The former St Mirren and Motherwell star, 33, remains a free agent following his departure from the Paisley club at the end of last season. | SNS Group
11. Kevin Malcuit - £400k
32-year-old Malcuit is a French-Moroccan right-back, last active for Ankaragucu in the Turkish SuperLig. He has previously played for the likes of Fiorentina, Monaco and Napoli. | AFP via Getty Images