Hearts reveal when Stephen Kingsley will return from injury

After missing the final seven matches of last season, Hearts defender Stephen Kingsley is almost fit again after a groin injury.

He is expected to resume full training before the end of the month and should be ready for competitive action when the Premier Sports Cup begins in mid-July.

The injury, sustained at Arbroath in March, forced the left-back to watch Hearts’ run-in from the sidelines as they secured the Championship title.

Robbie Neilson’s first-team squad report for pre-season training on Wednesday, June 15, and Kingsley may not quite be ready by then.

Hearts defender Stephen Kingsley is nearing a return from injury.

However, coaching staff believe he should rejoin his team-mates the following week as preparations intensify. Hearts play their opening game in the Premier Sports Cup away at Peterhead on July 10 and Neilson is confident that Kingsley will be in the squad.

“I would think he will be ready, yes. We aren't sure if he will be back for the first full training day but we expect him to definitely be back for the competitive matches,” the manager told the Evening News.

“He was running and had a wee bit of an issue, but not the original problem. We think it's just because he hasn't done much for a while. At the moment, we're just trying to cope with that.

“He isn't too far away. I'm hopeful he'll be back in full training definitely by the second week of pre-season.”

Kingsley signed a contract extension in January to commit his future to Hearts until summer 2022.

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