Concern over Liam Boyce as Hearts striker feels pain in knee with management pushing for more signings

Concern over Hearts striker Liam Boyce is rising after he was stretchered off with knee pain during Sunday’s 3-2 win against St Johnstone.
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The Northern Irishman left Tynecastle Park on crutches after appearing to catch his leg in the turf as Saints midfielder Daniel Phillips tackled Cammy Devlin nearby.

Hearts defenders Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson were also forced off with injuries during a costly 3-2 victory as the Edinburgh club climbed to third in the Premiership.

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Manager Robbie Neilson was not keen to speculate on any of the players, explaining that all three need medical scans to confirm the diagnosis.

Asked about Boyce, he said he would hope for the best. “We'll have to get the scans and then get the feedback from it. It could be a day, it could be nine months. We're speculating what it could be,” stated Neilson.

“He felt pain in his knee. The good thing is he is up and walking about, although he is on crutches. Fingers crossed it is not as bad as he first thought. It's particularly worrying because Liam had that injury before on his other knee. But it could just be a jarring. It could be anything. We just hope it is fine.

“Kye will get scanned as well. He had a problem with his metatarsal. He got a wee knock on it. He got stood on. Atkinson's groin just went tight so, again, until we get the scan results back I won't know any more.”

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St Johnstone’s aggression levels led to a few controversial moments during a pulsating 90 minutes. Graham Carey opened the scoring after a few minutes but Rowles and Boyce both scored to overhaul the deficit before succumbing to injury.

Liam Boyce gets treatment during Hearts' 3-2 win against St Johnstone.Liam Boyce gets treatment during Hearts' 3-2 win against St Johnstone.
Liam Boyce gets treatment during Hearts' 3-2 win against St Johnstone.

Andy Considine restored parity in the second half but Lawrence Shankland’s penalty nine minutes from the end earned Hearts victory.

“Any team coming to Tynecastle, I expect them to be physical,” said Neilson “If I was on the other side of it I'd be trying to do that as well. We just need to handle it and make sure we try and play our game.

“I felt first half we did that. We lost the goal early, which is probably the best time to lose one. We came out second half and allowed St Johnstone to play their game. We got caught up in it and once it settled down we got back into the game and started to take control.”

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Neilson confirmed that Hearts will endeavour to complete more signings before Thursday’s transfer deadline. A spate of injuries has sidelined first-choice defenders Stephen Kingsley and Craig Halkett, with Rowles also potentially added to that list.

German midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou has signed a three-year deal to join from Dutch club Heracles Almelo, pending a visa and international clearance.

“We still would like to get one or two more in. But that [new injuries] might mean we are a wee bit more aggressive in the market. We'll wait to see the scan results when they come back.”