Exclusive:Hibs injury news: Chaiwa and McGrath status revealed ahead of Hearts at Tynecastle as Rocky returns to squad
Gorgie ‘best place to win’ says Gray as Hibees eye up historic third straight derby victory
Hibs boss David Gray has provided an update on a trio of crucial players as he prepares for the first Edinburgh derby of the new season. The Easter Road side head to Tynecastle on Saturday to face a Hearts side currently sitting top of the Scottish Premiership.
Gray’s men, undefeated in the league after six rounds of action, head to Gorgie off the back of a battling 0-0 draw against the reigning champions at Celtic Park last weekend. Totemic central defender Rocky Bushiri missed that game because of personal reasons, while Jamie McGrath limped off with an Achilles’ tendon injury before half-time – and Miguel Chaiwa was withdrawn at the interval with a hamstring problem.
Speaking earlier today, the gaffer reported that attacking midfielder McGrath was back in full training – and hoping to feel no ill effects between now and Saturday’s tea-time kick-off in the live televised fixture, Gray saying: “Jamie came off, but he trained this morning, which is good.
“He just felt that issue during the game and at times you can sort of, when it's stiff, it can wear off as you get warmer and the game goes on. Unfortunately, in the first half, he felt like it just stayed the whole time and didn't get any better during the game. He felt it was affecting him, so we didn't take any risks with that.
“We've de-loaded him until today, which is his first day back on the grass. And he came through that. So we'll just see how he reacts because it's always a case of how it reacts to these situations. But we're still hopeful that he should be OK.”
The news on Zambian midfielder Chaiwa is less clear, with the all-action 21-year-old facing an anxious wait for scan results before getting the green light to return to action, Gray revealing: “He went for a scan because he felt his hamstring. And I think we'll have to just wait and see how that one goes because he definitely did feel something. So we'll get the results of that and we'll see how long that is.
Zambian didn’t ask to be replaced at Celtic Park
“The good thing is he came off, as in he didn't ask to come off. We assessed him at half time, asked how he felt. And we made the decision to take him off rather than going back out and making it 10 times worse.
“If you ask him when he's walking about now, he's telling us: ‘I want to play, I want to play, I want to train, I want to train.’ That's just his attitude all the time. So obviously, again, we're not going to take a risk with that one until we know the full extent of it.”
On Bushiri’s return to the group, Gray said: “Rocky's back. He returned, yeah. All good, trained today in a good place, which is positive.”
Embracing chance to make history
Hibs cross the capital for Saturday’s game having racked up back-to-back league wins over city rivals Hearts. The last time an Easter Road side completed a straight hat-trick of consecutive top-flight league wins over their nearest neighbours was back in the 1920s.
Gray, a keen student of club history who often uses landmarks from the past to inspire his players, said: “It’s been a long time, which shows you it's difficult to do. But it’s also another wee incentive for the players to do that.
“I think both teams go into it in good form, undefeated in the league. Tynecastle is always a difficult place to go, but I say it every time - it's also, in my opinion, the best place to play and try and win.
“There's no better place to win a game of football. And that's the challenge for the players this weekend.”