Hearts player suffers 'massive' injury blow as ex Tynecastle boss rues loss of 'exceptional' Jambos loanee
The star contracted to Hearts has been a key player elsewhere in the Premiership.
John McGlynn has confirmed Falkirk’s Hearts loanee, Lewis Neilson, has picked up a longer term injury.
The defender sustained a blow to his ankle at the end of last weekend’s Premiership win over Motherwell at Fir Park, where he impressed. He has been an ever-present for Bairns boss and ex-Tynecastle gaffer McGlynn since arriving on loan from Gorgie in the summer transfer window.
It’s a further issue for the newly-promoted club in central defence with Coll Donaldson and Tom Lang already carrying injuries this season. Left-back Leon McCann has sustained a blow, as have Aidan Nesbitt and Ethan Ross, who are dealing with long-term injuries.
Hearts player injury update
McGlynn said: “Lewis took an injury towards the end of the game, and it’s turned out to be quite a nasty one, so he’s going to have to see a specialist on his ankle. It’s not looking good. I think he’s going to be out for some time, which is a massive blow because he’s played every minute of every game, bar the game against Hearts when he couldn’t play against his parent club.
“He’s been exceptional. It’s a massive blow for the boy and a massive blow for us. Not only do we have Lewis out, we’ve got Coll Donaldson and Tom Lang out, so you’ve got three centre-backs out. As much as we’ve got cover, we’re kind of running out of that cover, to be honest. Leon McCann didn’t make the game last weekend and he’s not going to make the game (against Dundee) this weekend, so we are kind of bare bones at the back.
“Tom and Coll have not kicked a ball for us (this season) and it’s going to be Christmas before we probably see any one of the two of them, and Lewis is going to be similar. I don’t know how long he’ll be out but this is not three or four weeks, this is major. Everyone gets injuries, but we’ve had more than our fair share, that’s for sure.”
Lewis Neilson on Falkirk loan
The defender said of his Falkirk loan recently: “I’ve loved it. I came here to play games and I have played every minute of football that I could so far. It was frustrating last weekend not being able to play against Hearts. It was just one of those things. I am loving playing alongside Liam Henderson. His story is brilliant. From where he has came from to where he is now is amazing.
“He is a pleasure to play beside. He strolls it. The Hibs game, he scored a brilliant goal and honestly it felt like I didn’t even need to be there because he covered everything. We are growing together as a partnership really well. I think that will continue as we get to know each other’s games inside out. I love being beside him, he is a leader and he talks you through the game.
“We’ve had a tough schedule over the past month. St Mirren, Hibs, Hearts then Rangers. It doesn’t get much harder than that. No matter what form the Old Firm teams are in - you know that it is going to be a tough game. They’ll have moments of quality. They scored a really good goal. Before that for 35/40 minutes, we were honestly brilliant. I think for us that has to the blueprint for the rest of the season. The only thing missing was a goal with the amount of pressure that we had.”