Hearts injury news as 7 problems detailed after fixture v Hibs

Just on the half-time whistle, Hearts suffered a further blow to their back-line injury concerns

Hearts will be nursing their wounds following a draw in the Edinburgh derby in which they surrendered a 2-0 lead in the second-half. A beauty from Alan Forrest in the first half opened up the scoring and all appeared in the Jambos favour when, following the break, Alex Lowry’s strike was deflected into the goal by Hibs’ Christian Doidge.

However, in the 66th minute, disaster struck for Steven Naismith’s side as Hibs’ forward Elie Youan produced a superb spectacle, scoring twice in under 90 seconds. Both teams would go on to fight until the last second to try and secure a winner, but a point for both sides was all to be taken away in the end.

The Jambos have been the unfortunate recipients of several injury concerns in the first few weeks of the 2023/24 season with several long-term absentees having to watch from the sidelines. Naismith will surely have been hoping that the impending international break would be the perfect time to bring some of the previously injured stars back into the line-up. He most certainly would not have been planning for a further catastrophe to take place.

Just on the brink of half-time, Stephen Kingsley was stretchered off the pitch and the extent of the damage is likely to be determined in the next couple of days. Speaking after the fixture, Naismith said: “We probably won’t know until around the middle of the week. He will get a scan if need be, if it’s that sore. If he goes in and it’s just tight, then maybe not. We will make those calls.”

Kingsley has been a crucial figure in recent weeks, replacing the also injured Alex Cochrane on the left-hand side. In the pre-match press conference, Naismith indicated Cochrane could be ready to get back on the pitch but the 23-year-old was not seen in the matchday squad. In two weeks time, it could, however, be a better time to welcome the ex-Brighton star back while Yutaro Oda is another who will be itching to make his return.

Craig Gordon and Craig Halkett continue to recover from their respective injuries with noise emerging that the former is set to make his return imminently. Edinburgh News previously reported that he is expected to be doing full daily sessions this international break with a view to taking back the captaincy armband.

Barrie McKay will also hope to be part of the squad welcoming Celtic to Tynecastle with his return date set for the middle of October. Nathaniel Atkinson, however, will unlikely be seen on the pitch until later this year.

Hearts full injury list:

• Craig Halkett - cruciate ligament injury
• Craig Gordon - fractured leg
• Barrie McKay - knee injury
• Alex Cochrane - Ankle injury
• Yutaro Oda - hamstring injury
• Nathaniel Atkinson - ankle injury
• Stephen Kingsley - groin problem