Hearts leave two players in Edinburgh as management explain reason for injury issues ahead of Trabzonspor tie
Fans are in Turkiye for the UEFA Conference League tie at Papara Park
Hearts arrived in Trabzon this evening with full-back Christian Borchgrevink declared fit, but midfielder Oisin McEntee and defender Stuart Findlay missing. McEntee and Findlay were left in Edinburgh with injuries as the team flew to Turkiye for Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie against Trabzonspor.
The Irishman aggravated a calf problem during Sunday’s Scottish Premiership match against Celtic and is not being risked for this European tie. Findlay sustained a groin injury in training on Tuesday, the full extent of which is not yet clear. Both players are staying at Riccarton for treatment in the hope they can return quickly to help Hearts during a punishing schedule of games.
The Trabzonspor match is the fourth fixture of nine inside a month for the Tynecastle side, and they are keen not to risk players’ long-term fitness for one game. Borchgrevink missed the Celtic match with an ankle problem but has travelled to Turkiye and is pushing to play from the start against Trabzonspor. After drawing 1-1 with Nordsjaelland in their opening Conference League tie at Tynecastle last Thursday, Hearts are firm underdogs against Mo Salah and his team-mates this week.
“A couple of players stayed at home - Oisin and Stuart,” said Vrancken. “Oisin was in the game the other day. It was his calf so we need to see day by day. Stu was his groin. He injured it yesterday in training. We will have to see how long he is out but we are hopeful it will just be days. Borch is here and he has been training.”
When asked why Hearts players are suffering so many injuries, Vrancken hinted that a short pre-season preparation time may be a contributing factor. Midfielders Blair Spittal and Tom Renaud are currently sidelined long-term, while Yan Dhanda is not in the European squad. Injuries in other positions include defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott, who missed two months and only recently returned. McEntee was also out for a month with a calf complaint, and full-back Stephen Kingsley was sidelined after hurting his hamstring against Sturm Graz back in July.
“We are always coming back to the root of it,” said Vrancken. “For me, getting the foundation right is important, where you are not having the fatigue in your legs when you are having to play for results. You have to build from there. It is like the foundation when you build a house - if the foundation is strong then you can build whatever you want on it when it is strong. When the foundation is not top then there will be cracks and you will need to cement it again. We have to keep building up the foundation using all these games. We have to manage the players and the minutes and hopefully the guys can go out tomorrow and do well.”
McEntee’s absence leaves Hearts short in midfield against Trabzonspor. Laurent Mendy and Tomas Magnusson are the only established names in that position who are fit. “I have never experienced in my career injuries and all in the same position,” admitted Vrancken. “At the same time, we have to get over it and trust in the guys who are playing in the positions tomorrow. They will get full support there and we will go no the pitch the belief that we can do something and show something.”
Hearts lost 7-1 to Celtic on Sunday and face an in-form Trabzonspor side who have won their last four games in all competitions. “Every team has its strengths and weaknesses, as always. We have analysed them as well as we can,” explained Vrancken, who is keen not to focus solely on the danger posed by winger Salah. “They are a strong and complete team, especially since the new manager has come in. They have had a really good run of results and scored a lot of goals. They have a lot of individuals who can decide a game, not only Salah. They have a lot of potential, like Benfica, who we played previously. They have good strength in the team in a lot of ways. We also need to do better than Sunday, but without losing the belief and the guts.
“It has to be a team effort. You cannot only focus on Salah because he is not the only one with quality. They will have 11 quality players on the pitch. Yes, Salah is a world-class player but we will try and do something to nullify him, so he won’t stick out easy. At the same time we need to believe in what we are doing. We have done it in the past in games where we have shown a real team effort in tough environments and that will be necessary again tomorrow.”
It remains to be seen if Hearts will take a more conservative approach in Turkiye than they did at Celtic Park. “We have principles in block and press. It is always the same. We didn’t do good enough against Celtic,” said Vrancken. “Our defensive play against Celtic was not good enough and neither was our quality on the ball. When you lose the ball too easily and there is no back-up, you are totally exposed at the back. I have to say this was not good enough. Now we have to do better without losing the belief and principles. These are the moments where you need to learn and do things better.”