Robbie Neilson provides update on Hearts pair Aidy White and Loic Damour

The duo were missing from the friendly win over Partick Thistle

Aidy White has missed a chunk of Hearts' pre-season due to a back spasm. Picture: SNS

Hearts duo Aidy White and Loic Damour are set to miss the start of the season due to injury.

The Tynecastle Park side get their 2020/21 campaign underway in a week’s time when they face Inverness CT in the Betfred Cup.

Both White and Damour have picked up injuries in training ruling them out for “another couple of weeks”, Hearts boss Robbie Neilson revealed.

The pair were absent from Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win over Partick Thistle and haven’t featured in the build-up games since the start of the month.

White, who has impressed Neilson, has a back issue following an innocuous challenge ground incident, while Damour has an issue with his ankle.

“Aidy's got a wee back spasm," Neilson said. “Loic has got a problem with his ankle so he will probably be another couple of weeks as well. It's disappointing for those two but it won't be long term.

“[Aidy] did great in pre-season. He went up for a header, somebody went in behind him and he fell on his back, it was a spasm, totally unrelated [to other injury issues].

"It's still niggling him a wee bit, anything with your back, do anything at all it's flaring up all the time. It will be another couple of weeks.”

Both players have struggled for consistency since joining the club. They were heavily involved in the early bounce games, both featuring in fixtures against Sheffield United, St Mirren and Burnley.