Jamie Brandon's Hearts injury return date revealed

Hearts defender Jamie Brandon is making steady progress with his rehabilitation after a ruptured cruciate knee ligament.

Jamie Brandon has been out injured since January.

He is now back running at speed but is yet to take part in full contact training. It is likely to be January before he is ready for first-team football after sustaining the injury at the start of this year.

Brandon will play in bounce matches later this year before Hearts decide whether he may benefit from a loan spell during the second half of the campaign. He faces competition at right-back from the experienced Michael Smith and youngster Cammy Logan.

“Jamie is doing full running but still not any contact training. We are hoping he will be back by January having played one or two bounce games,” said the Hearts manager Robbie Neilson. “He should be fully fit and played a couple of games, so we will see how he does and then make a decision on him in January.”

Neilson added that the 23-year-old has impressed with his attitude and dedication whilst trying to regain fitness. He believes Brandon may even return stronger for all the extra work put in during the last nine months.

“He has worked really well in the gym. He’s in every day, he’s looking strong and he’s fully committed to it. It can be difficult but having him in every day with the rest of the boys is keeping his spirits up. I think he will actually come back better because he’s looking in really condition.”

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