Hearts star shows his scars after international game as former Hibs ace suffers 'significant' injury blow

With the latest international break now behind us, focus shifts back to the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership.

Hibs are gearing up to face off against Dundee United, as Hearts prepare for their match against St. Mirren at Tynecastle under new head coach Neil Critchley. In the meantime, let’s take a look at what is happening around the league.

A Hearts ace picked up a nasty black eye whilst playing for Costa Rica against Guatemala during his international duty while a former Hibs star is out long-term. Meanwhile, a Scotland and Aberdeen star spoke on who may have gotten hold of Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt following their game against Portugal in the Nations League on Tuesday.

Hearts’ Kenneth Vargas shows off facial scarring from game against Guatemala for Costa Rica

Hearts ace Kenneth Vargas was the star of the show when Costa Rica took on Guatemala in the CONCACAF Nations League - he scored his country’s second goal of the game as La Tricolor romped to a 3-0 win.

However, his goal did not come without a price - during the game, Vargas picked up a black eye after he was kicked by Guatemala’s José Ardón [via Nacion]. It left a noticeable bruise and caused swelling, but the 22 year old completed the full 90 minutes nonetheless.

Vargas took to Instagram to thank the fans for their support after the game, writing [translated from Spanish]: “The long wait was worth it!! Thanks for all the support last night it was amazing!”

Nicky Devlin ‘may’ have gotten Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt after Scotland game

Newly capped Scotland ace Nicky Devlin might have achieved (almost) every football fan’s dream on Tuesday evening, as possession of Cristiano Ronaldo’s jersey became a talking point following the 0-0 clash with Portugal at Hampden Park.

Not only that, he also believed that the former Manchester United star was not ‘too happy’ after the game in which he failed to find the back of the net.

Speaking after the game, Devlin said: “I got a strip with my name on the back and the number one that the manager gave me. So I’m delighted with that. I think Che might have got Ronaldo’s top to be fair. I don’t think he was too happy at the end!

“We had to frustrate them a lot of the time tonight and we managed to do that. But over the course of the game we probably had the better chances to maybe win the game. It’s definitely a positive for going into the next two games and hopefully we can pick up some wins in those.

“It’s a proud moment for me and my family and probably everyone who’s grown up with me playing football. It’s a special moment and probably more importantly it’s a good result for the team and something we have probably deserved over the last few games. We’ve probably deserved more than a point over the last few games. We managed to get one now, one out of six, and hopefully something we can build on.”

McGinn injured

Former Hibs defender Paul McGinn has picked up a significant injury at league rivals Motherwell. The experienced star left Easter Road for Fir Park in 2022 and is now captain, with manager Stuart Kettlewell confirming a thigh blow.

He said: "We have a disappointment, we've lost Paul McGinn for a significant period of time. A muscle injury, completely innocuous when striking the ball, and it looks like he has a tear. We will be a bit more specific on that, but the fact of the matter is we are going to be without our captain."