Three Hearts players back from injury for Istanbul tie as Craig Gordon sets a new career target

Three Hearts players have returned from injury in time to travel to Turkey for Thursday’s final Europa Conference League tie against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Peter Haring is recovered from concussion and the Australian pair of Cammy Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson are both fit after ankle problems. All three are in contention to feature in the Fatih Terim Stadium.

“Peter is back as he's over his concussion protocols and it's important we followed those,” confirmed Neilson. “We have Devlin and Atkinson with us. The injured players are starting to come back, which is great. We have Atkinson back in, Craig Halkett training and Kye Rowles training so they are slowly starting to get there. The idea is not to push them too quickly. We did that previously to get Halkett back for a European game and he broke down so we are treading a bit mote carefully.”

Neilson added that Halkett and Rowles had been left behind in Edinburgh to continue training. They are close to returning from a persistent hamstring issue and a broken foot respectively and could appear against Motherwell at Tynecastle Park on Sunday. Stephen Humphrys is still not over an ankle complaint.

One player who will definitely start in Istanbul is captain Craig Gordon, who will equal Hearts’ European appearance record of 22 games alongside Steven Pressley and Henry Smith. The goalkeeper turns 40 next month but fully intends breaking that record next season.

“It was one of the motivating factors in coming back to Hearts,” explained Gordon. “I knew that I was close and if we managed to qualify for Europe I’d have to play every game in the group stages to be able to equal it. I don’t just want to equal it, I want to try and beat it. The plan is to try and get back [into European competition] again next year. Hopefully we’ll learn from what we have experienced this year and do better next time.”

Neilson explained how leaving Gordon out of the team for a rest has been difficult. The experienced Zander Clark is still in reserve awaiting a Hearts debut despite signing in September. The established No.1 is simply not one for taking time out.

“Craig is going for a record and it's important we help him get that,” said the manager. “We will look at the next games coming up. I had a conversation with Craig a few months ago. We spoke about Zander coming in and that he [Gordon] would come out for a few games.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has three players returning against Istanbul Basaksehir.

“Craig then chapped my door and said he wants to play in every game and that's the measure of him. He wants to keep playing and is playing at a top level. It's up to the guys to get to that level to try and force their way in.

“It's an outstanding achievement to get so many games for Hearts. Craig has earned it and has looked after himself to be playing at the age he is at. He has so many targets that he wants to try and hit. There are a few more he still wants to hit and playing in Europe next season is a huge objective for him. I'm very proud to have played with him and managed him. He's been a credit to the club.”