Hearts: Peter Haring injury news plus Daniel Stendel's plans for Uche Ikpeazu

Hearts midfielder Peter Haring has been told to rest

Doctors have ordered Hearts midfielder Peter Haring to rest due to ongoing pain in his pelvic area. The Austrian took medical advice two weeks ago and was told not to train until the discomfort has subsided.

Manager Daniel Stendel confirmed that striker Uche Ikpeazu remains part of his plans for the second half of the season. For now though, he must do without the influential Haring.

The 26-year-old has not played since the Scottish Cup final in May last year. He underwent double hernia surgery 12 months ago and managed to play 11 times during the second part of last season.

• READ MORE - Daniel Stendel reveals Ann Budge talks before he axed Hearts captain Christophe BerraHe had another operation in November on an adductor but the persistent pain means there is no definitive date for his return to action at the moment.

"Peter had an appointment with the doctor at the start of January. He needs rest now," explained Stendel. "I hope that after this he can start with training and he has no pain again.

"The exact diagnosis I don’t know. This is the main problem when he has been out for so long. It wasn’t really clear. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t a normal injury. That’s the problem."

Stendel wants to sign a new striker before the end of the month but said that Ikpeazu, who has two goals from 24 appearances this season, still has a role to play at Hearts.

He will continue to feature after colleagues Christophe Berra, Jake Mulraney, Craig Wighton and Colin Doyle were told they are not in the manager's plans.

"Uche has trained well and we are looking at what he can do," said Stendel. "I hope he can score goals but in the past that was not so easy for him.

"He is not alone with that, there are a lot of players who can score goals for us but haven’t. I think Jamie Walker can score more goals than in the first half of the season and we expect more from all of our players, but Uche is still part of the plans."