Hearts confirm Harry Milne's injury return time & Christian Borchgrevink's recovery timeline ahead of Rangers

Medical scans have confirmed that Hearts defender Harry Milne will not play again this season due to a knee injury. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a training session at Papara Park in Trabzon last week and is facing up to nine months out of football.

The news was confirmed at Tynecastle Park today as Hearts held a pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s Premiership match against Rangers. The club expected Milne to be out until next summer and were awaiting a knee scan to confirm the diagnosis.

Fellow defender Christian Borchgrevink was also injured in Turkey during the UEFA Conference League tie against Trabzonspor. A hamstring problem forced him off in the first half, and he will now be sidelined for around least a month. The Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken said that the Norwegian would probably not be available again until after November’s international break.

The injuries merely compound what is a horrible run of fitness issues for the Edinburgh club. They are without eight first-team regulars in total for the match against Rangers. Vrancken confirmed that centre-back Stuart Findlay, who has a groin complaint, will not be fit in time.

“Stuart will not be available now. Actually, the squad doesn't change when you compare it with the last game. Harry is unfortunate. His season is finished, so it was the ACL. We expected that, of course, but there was a bit of hope. It’s just unlucky for him. With Borch, we have to see to the break. It was hard for Harry. I spoke with him but he had made peace with it, he said. In the back of your head, you know, we hoped a bit. But, yeah, it’s unfortunate.”

Rangers’ visit to Gorgie will be Hearts’ sixth fixture in a run of nine games inside a month. With injuries appearing relentless, Vrancken’s options for resting players are limited. Training sessions remain detailed and the squad’s workload is being managed by coaching and sports science staff.

“We are not making it as light as possible, because this is the thing you can do wrong also,” explained Vrancken. “When it's about load, you have to be able to manage the load. When you go too light in the trainings, then you're not able any more, and then the risk of injuries, for example, is higher.

“It was something we carried on from the beginning and we have to manage it day-by-day. For the guys who played all game and most of the time, they have to focus on the recovery. That's obvious. And the rest you have to compensate so that they're on level to pick up in minutes.”

Long-term injury victims Blair Spittal and Tom Renaud are working through rehabilitation programmes. “I hope to see Spits before Christmas,” said Vrancken. “Tom, like I said, it's difficult to see at this moment. We don't want to push those things that he's going over the limit and have a setback. Step-by-step. There are a few, of course, that we still expect after the break to be back.”

Wednesday will be Derek McInnes’ first visit to Tynecastle since leaving Hearts to manage Rangers in June. He will know many of Vrancken squad, but that may not necessarily give him an advantage. “I don't know. Ask him,” joked Vrancken. “It's a totally different style. I think there are a lot of players that are playing now who were subs last year. Even the guys who were very important at the beginning of the season are out now or didn't play too much last year. So they stepped up this season.

“I'm happy to see this. We ask different things, probably, him and me. So it's about analysing the game, how they are now and about them and about us. When you can have three points tomorrow, then it's also a boost mentally, especially within the circumstances we're in now [with injuries]. Knowing that it can only get better then and we have more and more possibilities, that would be a big boost. But it's not decisive, of course, at this stage.”

Wednesday doubles as Foundation of Hearts Day at Tynecastle as Hearts hail the fans who own and pledge money to the club. “I think it's massive, actually,” acknowledged Vrancken. “When you see how important the fans are here in general, and then the Foundation, when you are this important for the club with the things you did, then you deserve this kind of honour.

“It's nice to see because it's also something I found out before I came here. With fan ownership like this, it's something special and you have to honour it. Hopefully it will be a good result there so that you can celebrate even more.”