Hearts team news v Rangers: Players return for the Premiership kick-off

Coaching staff have plenty options for the opening game at Tynecastle

Two Hearts players are expected to return from injury this weekend as the William Hill Premiership kicks off with Rangers visiting Tynecastle Park. A high-octane opening fixture pits east against west in front of the Sky Sports cameras, and the Hearts management team will have close to a full squad to choose from.

Influential defender Stephen Kingsley is back in training and could potentially play some part in the match. He did not feature in any of the pre-season friendlies due to a calf complaint, but he has trained for the last 10 days and should be included in the squad for Saturday.

Winger Yutaro Oda is also pushing to be available after a minor knock precluded him from Hearts’ final pre-season outing at Fleetwood Town last weekend. The Edinburgh club are currently running with a 27-man first-team squad following some loan exits. That number will increase to 28 once midfielder Malachi Boateng’s signing from Crystal Palace is completed.

He is being brought in to compensate for the absences of fellow midfielders Calem Nieuwenhof and Beni Baningime, who will both miss the start of the season through injury. “I think everybody will be available other than Calem and Beni. They are probably the only two who will be missing on Saturday. The squad is in a good place,” the Hearts head coach Steven Naismith told the Edinburgh News.

With European, Premiership and League Cup fixtures all on the calendar between now and Christmas, Naismith knows Hearts face a demanding schedule. Hence the larger-than-usual squad. “I'm looking forward to the games starting. It's the start of what is going to be a busy season - hopefully a busy and enjoyable season,” he said.

“This first month is probably calmer than what is coming. We have one game a week for the next three weeks. The first two are on television and then we play Falkirk in the [League] Cup. That's when the schedule starts to get busier and there will be more demand on the squad.

“There will be disappointment for players who are not playing or getting the minutes they want during these first three weeks. Hopefully last season showed, when the European games came round, that we need everybody. When we need them will all be at different times.

“The players will be picked for each game with the thought of getting the win. It's a bit of arolling start for us, rather than going from zero to 100 in the first week. You would hope Beni and Calem would be closer to returns by then when it does get busier. It also gives the boys who are new a bit more time on the training pitch to understand what we are asking from them.”

Disappointment for players is inevitable initially as a clutch of new signings push for game time among the established faces at Riccarton. Younger players will find themselves flitting between the first team and B team at times.

“Knowing the players we have and the squad overall, there is a competitive edge there because they all want to be involved in the games coming up,” explained Naismith. “Everybody wants to play and that's natural, but as a group we need to understand that there is going to be disappointment. Everybody needs to be disappointed if they are not playing, but then it's how they can help the group in those moments.

“If they are not on the pitch, whether it's supporting the players from the side or coming on as a sub, their roles throughout the season will change. We saw that last season. Everbody played quite a lot of minutes and we also had some injuries to contend with.”