Hearts fear over Michael Smith as the defender's injury against Hibs leaves him on crutches

Hearts defender Michael Smith should learn the full extent of his injury over the next 48 hours with concern growing that the Northern Irishman could have played his last game for the club.

He limped off in the opening minutes of Saturday’s Edinburgh derby against Hibs after pulling up with a suspected hamstring tear. If confirmed, that could end his season prematurely and perhaps even his Tynecastle career. Smith’s contract is due to expire in a few weeks with no extension agreed as things stand.

The 34-year-old left Easter Road on crutches and will be assessed by medical staff in order to gain an exact diagnosis and predicted recovery time. All concerned are hopeful that the problem is not as bad as first feared and that Smith will be able to return at some point during the final six games of the cinch Premiership campaign.

Steven Naismith, Hearts’ interim manager, admitted in the aftermath of Saturday’s match that the initial prognosis for the player did not look too encouraging. “To come off so early in the game, it's obviously going to be a bad one,” he said. “We won't know for about 48 hours but I would imagine it's not just a tight hammy.”

Nathaniel Atkinson stepped off the substitutes’ bench to replace Smith and delivered a solid performance at right-back for Hearts. However, he could not prevent a defeat which ended the Tynecastle side’s nine-game unbeaten run against their city rivals.

Kevin Nisbet scored the game’s only goal on 67 minutes, converting Paul Hanlon’s downward header following a corner-kick. The result leaves Hearts fourth in the league table and five points behind third-placed Aberdeen. Ross County visit Tynecastle this weekend in the final round of pre-split fixtures.