Hearts set recovery times for Craig Halkett and Marc Leonard - defender and Birmingham City man in London
Tynecastle players head to England after injury strikes
Hearts players Craig Halkett and Marc Leonard both underwent surgeries in London on Monday to repair ruptured Achilles tendons. Doctors predict that they will be sidelined for between seven and nine months, with Halkett suffering the added complication of a torn calf muscle.
The injuries were sustained during Saturday night’s 1-1 draw between Hearts and Motherwell at Fir Park. Leonard, the on-loan Birmingham City midfielder, was helped off the field just before half-time after falling awkwardly. Halkett was stretchered off in the second half after sliding in for the ball. Both players had their injuries confirmed to add to an already-lengthy list of Hearts absentees ahead of Wednesday night’s critical match with Falkirk in the Premiership title race.
“Both lads flew to London on Sunday afternoon and both got operated on yesterday morning,” explained the Hearts head coach, Derek McInnes. “It was the same surgeon, both within an hour of so of each other. It was a ruptured Achilles for both, so its significant injuries. They’ll be out for seven to nine months.”
Leonard will return to his parent club with his loan in Edinburgh now effectively over. Halkett will recover under Hearts’ supervision. “Marc will travel back to Birmingham today. He’ll be in with the club doctor there,” said McInnes. “Craig will travel back this afternoon to be with our physios here. It’s tragic news, really disappointing. It’s bizarre really to pick up two in the one game. It’s unheard of. Craig has torn his calf as well as his Achilles, so it’s quite a significant injury. I thought it might have just been his calf when I saw it happen but unfortunately for him and for us, both he and Marc are no longer available.”
Hearts could win the Premiership if they beat Falkirk and Celtic lose at Motherwell. If not, they will then finish the campaign at Celtic Park on Saturday in title decider. McInnes and his players are now extra motivated to finish the season by making history to offer Halkett and Leonard some cheer. “You don’t need any extra motivation but it is certainly something we’ve spoken about,” said McInnes.
“It’s two lads who have served us brilliantly all season. Craig has been a real rock for us all season and Marc came in when we needed him most, delivering some really big performances. He kept us ticking over in there while we had Cammy Devlin’s injury and, with Beni Baningime being out for a few games too, so he’s been vitally important to us.
“Both lads have been very influential on what is a team at the top of the league. It’s important that we finish the job off. I think I should add, any lads who have come in have never let us down. Obviously the squad is now getting a bit stretched in certain areas. We now need to navigate two games in three days - two of the most important games the club has had.
“So with all that in mind, we have a lot to think about but at the moment the thought is just to win this game tomorrow. Somebody said to me yesterday that this game feels like a semi-final before the final, but it’s not. It’s a final before a final and we have to treat it this way. This is a massive game for us tomorrow and we have to treat it that way.”
Devlin returned from injury in the latter stage of the Motherwell match and is ready to face Falkirk. Left-back Harry Milne is also back from eight weeks out with a calf problem. “Everybody else is fine. Harry and Cammy are both fit and available and in contention,” said McInnes.
“Obviously, we limited Cammy’s minutes at the weekend. When Marc goes off, obviously it would have been natural to get Cammy on the pitch a bit earlier. But with Wednesday and Saturday in mind, we didn’t want to over-risk that one, then we would have been behind the eight ball a lot more. Both lads have trained and both are available.”
McInnes conceded that Hearts training sessions are slightly less competitive at this point of the campaign as they try to reduce the chance of more injuries. “We’re trying to limit duels and that intensity a wee bit,” he said. “To be fair, at this stage of the season, you’re not going to get lads any more fit. All we can do is maintain it now and try to keep focus and get through training.
“There are a lot of players with knocks, aches and bruises, the kind of thing you get at this stage of the season. It’s just trying to make sure you don’t exacerbate a situation. There’s nothing worse than picking up a training injury. With three games in a week, it’s really just about recovery and fine tuning what you want from the games.”