Hibs: Jack Ross speaks on Joe Newell fitness ahead of St Johnstone clash

Midfielder has missed the last four games

Joe Newell has missed Hibs' last four matches through injury

Jack Ross is frustrated at the length of time Joe Newell has been out of action, admitting Hibs have missed the midfielder’s delivery from set pieces.

Newell hasn’t featured in the Easter Road side’s last four matches after suffering a bruised bone in his heel during the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in the middle of last month.

Initially the injury wasn’t believed to be too troublesome, the 26-year-old actually named in the side to face Livingston in Hibs next match, only to pull up during the warm-up and replaced in the starting line-up by Lewis Stevenson.

Newell has since been sidelined for the Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Inverness and the Premiership defeats by Hearts and Aberdeen, although Ross revealed the former Rotherham player has an outside chance of making his squad for Saturday’s crunch clash with St Johnstone depending on how much training he can do this week.

The head coach said: “It’s been a bit frustrating the length of time he has been out. Joe has been good since I came to the club. He’s played a few different roles and been good in each of them.

“He has contributed a lot of assists, particularly from set pieces, and people shouldn’t overlook the importance of that.

“We have perhaps been searching for that consistency of delivery without him, so when Joe is in the team it’s another part of the team’s armoury.

“We have missed him in that respect, but we’ll have to wait to see how it goes.”