Calem Nieuwenhof injury return timeline as Hearts midfielder takes 'positive' step in comeback bid

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Neil Critchley has been dealt a fresh injury blow on the eve of his first match in charge of Hearts against St Mirren after confirming Yutaro Oda faces a short period on the sidelines - but he offered a more positive update on Calem Nieuwenhof situation.

The former Blackpool and QPR boss will take his place in the Tynecastle dugout for the first time on Saturday, but he will be without Japanese forward Oda and right-back Gerald Taylor (knee) for their Scottish Premiership clash with the Buddies.

However, midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof is on the comeback trail from a serious tendon injury that has ruled him out of action since late April, with Critchley revealing the Australian was back out running on the grass for the first time on Friday.

Hearts Head Coach Neil Critchley leads a training session at the Oriam | SNS Group

Providing an update on the injury front, the Englishman confirmed: “Obviously, Gerald Taylor is out. That’s a longer term one. Calem was back out on the grass doing a bit of running today which is a positive step forward for him. Yutaro (Oda) will be out for the next few weeks unfortunately.

“Calem is probably a few weeks yet, I would’ve thought. I spoke to him in the gym the other day and you can see he’s desperate to get back. He’s had a setback and it’s not been ideal, so I don’t want to put any due pressure on him.

“I think he just has to come back when he’s ready because I know he was doing very well last year when he got injured. We’ll be looking forward to having him back, I know he can’t wait to get back playing. But today was his first day back out on the grass so let’s just be patient and take our time with him.”

Hearts have had a number of players returning from international duty at various intervals in recent days, with the likes of Kenneth Vargas and Kye Rowles travelling from further afield. Asked if that had affected his preparation in the lead-up to Saturday’s match, Critchley said: “It’s not ideal, but it is what it is. You can only control what you can control.

“We’ve been working with the players since Tuesday this week and we’ve had the majority of the squad here while others have came back at different stages. But they’re all here now and we were all together today. Hopefully by tomorrow we see some signs of the team we want to be in the future.”