Taking extra care with duo pays off for Hearts and leaves Robbie Neilson delighted

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson was “delighted” to see Josh Ginnelly back in action after nearly seven weeks on the sidelines.
Josh Ginnelly scores to make it 6-1 for Hearts.Josh Ginnelly scores to make it 6-1 for Hearts.
Josh Ginnelly scores to make it 6-1 for Hearts.

The on-loan Preston North End winger suffered a thigh injury on October 23 in the 1-0 win against Arbroath and had not appeared since prior to Saturday’s clash with Queen of the South.

The 23-year-old’s return had been expected to come sooner, but a setback forced him to spend more time on the sidelines. However, he made a 61st-minute appearance from the substitute’s bench in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Doonhamers and crowned it with a goal of his own in stoppage time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I'm delighted for Josh,” Neilson told the Evening News. “He came up here and when he first came into the team, he was outstanding. He picked up a thigh injury up at Arbroath and we thought we'd get him back sooner, but he had a wee niggle again so we took him out.”

Neilson revealed that Ginnelly, along with fellow winger Elliot Frear, were given extra time to reach peak fitness. Like Ginnelly, Frear came off the bench and got a goal of his own to give the Jambos boss more food for thought ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

"Josh had been gearing up for the Queens game for a while,” added Neilson. “They [Ginnelly and Frear] could've been fit for the Morton game, but giving them another week and getting their fitness levels up so when they come back like today, they are at it and they have a chance to be ready for the final."

A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.