Hearts make three key decisions amid injury crisis - report

Three Hearts stars will begin fresh contract discussions soon despite injury worries

Hearts are reportedly set to hold talks with Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett and Beni Baningime about new contracts in the coming weeks. All three have been hampered by injuries in the past couple of years with Gordon and Halkett still out on the sidelines.

The goalkeeper and defender suffered injuries in the same game against Dundee last December with Gordon breaking his leg and his centre-back suffering an ACL injury. They are, however, on the fringes of making a pitch comeback with Hearts club captain making an appearance against Spartans this weekend.

Baningime, on the other hand, has made just five appearances so far this season. He missed the entirety of last season following an ACL injury in April 2022. Just two of those appearances were starts and they both ended in defeat to Rosenborg and St Mirren. Joe Savage and Hearts, however, remain big fans of the Congolese midfielder and are confident he will get back to his best form soon and they don’t want to lose him on a free.

This means all three players could extend their stays but Gordon and Halkett are not going to be part of contract talks until they have made their return to action with Hearts preferring them to focus on their recoveries.

Savage, Hearts’ Sporting Director, told the Hearts Standard: "Beni, we’re just giving him time to come back and find his feet. Beni is a good player, everyone can see that. When he plays he is very, very good. He is someone we are going to speak with. I had an initial conversation with his agent so there is something to be done with that.

"Craig Gordon, not spoken to him yet but again letting him recover. Get back from his injury and then I’m sure discussions will be had with him. The same with Craig Halkett. We are just letting Halks recover, get back to fitness, get back to where he thinks he can be at then take it from there.

"They are key players. I would be very, very stupid to say we wouldn’t be having a conversation with them when the time is right to explore extending the contract because the one thing you need to do is keep the players you know can perform at the level and they three certainly can perform at this level for us."