Hearts update on Ageu, another player may return for Rangers, Edinburgh run ends with Motherwell win

Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken praised his players for a massive win at Motherwell which ended a bizarre away record for the club. They had not won any match outside Edinburgh since January at Dundee United, but the 2-0 victory at Fir Park brought that unwanted sequence to an end. Hearts remain third in the Premiership ahead and four points behind Rangers, who visit Tynecastle on Wednesday night.

An early goal from Claudio Braga and a late strike from substitute Calvin Miller earned a vital win at Fir Park for a Hearts team coping with an injury crisis. They lost 2-0 at Trabzonspor in Thursday’s UEFA Conference League tie, which came four days after the 7-1 league defeat at Celtic Park. With eight first-team regulars currently sidelined, this was a colossal result in terrible conditions.

“It’s a massive three points,” said Vrancken. “Considering the circumstances with ourselves and also here with the wind, it was difficult to bring quality football all the time. It was not possible. Then you had moments in the game where it becomes a battle and you have to win the battle and we did. It’s not just circumstances either.

“When coming back from the long travel [to Turkiye] then it’s scientifically not possible to recover in two days. Then you had the stats with the away games outside Edinburgh. After those run of games I’m happy they rewarded themselves today. I don’t like excuses. We knew the run of games will be tough but they coped well. Players were out of position but these players did everything they could. We fought together for the result and we have to keep doing it like this.”

Hearts players took the acclaim from 3,997 travelling supporters at full-time. “This is the base for everything. In team sport you have to be one,” stressed Vrancken. “Everyone knows the difficult situation we were in and the bounce back from the Celtic game. If you don’t win it today, it’s not positive any more. I was really happy to see this. Some guys started who didn’t start for a while and they gave their best. I was happy for Sabah [Kerjota] because he gave an assist and these attacking players live by stats. They worked together for a result in a difficult moment.”

There was a determination about Hearts in midweek following the heavy loss at Celtic. That carried on to Motherwell and delighted Vrancken and his coaching staff. “Even when you win, you want to see this on the pitch,” he said. “This is what we need all the time and with this run it’s not always easy. People might underestimate these amounts of games especially when you have players from a lower tier who aren’t used to top level games all the time.”

Long-term Hearts absentees Blair Spittal, Tom Renaud, Craig Halkett, and Harry Milne were never going to be available for this match. Oisin McEntee, Stuart Findlay, Christian Borchgrevink and Eduardo Ageu are working to return from injury but are at different stages of recovery.

Ageu, who has a muscle injury, is back working on the Riccarton training pitches. Medical and coaching staff are keen not to push the Brazilian too hard given his relentless injury issues since arriving in Edinburgh as the club’s record signing in August 2025. “He’s on the pitch doing individual stuff but it’s difficult to say when he will be able to participate,” stated Vrancken.

Asked if he will have any of his injured players available to face Rangers, the Belgian was not overly confident. “I don’t think so. We’ll see. Maybe Stu. Depending on his progress day by day. We take our care and rest.”

Motherwell ended the day with a sixth straight defeat and manager Alfred Johansson heard home fans jeer his team at full-time. They are now 10th in the Premiership, just one point above bottom side Hibs, and need results to turn their fortunes. Johansson is convinced it can be done. “Absolutely. The way they fight for each other and train, it’s a lot of belief and effort. It’s a young group that needs to understand to compete in both boxes,” he said.

“There are always other things to improve but this is the biggest thing we can change right now and how the players are working towards that. You'll finish the attacks better and when defensively you think things are working you stay more focused and aggressive. The players can do it, we just have to dig in and show on Wednesday we are capable of it. We kept Hearts quiet enough to get a result and that’s what we need.”