Hibs return for 'desperate' Scotland striker as boss addresses £750,000-plus Finnish midfielder link

Fired-up Hibs striker Kieron Bowie is “desperate” to return to first-team action with a bang after being cleared to play against Clydebank in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road. And the Scotland Under-21 star, a £600,000 summer signing from Fulham, is eager to make up for lost time after spending four months recovering from hamstring surgery.

Bowie has completed a full week of training to sign off on his return-to-play protocol, the 22-year-old impressing medical staff with his diligence as he worked back from an injury sustained on international duty. The former Raith prospect, who has ambitions to answer the senior national team’s long-term quest to find a reliable international goal scorer, had yet to start a game for Hibs – who were nursing him back from a previous injury – when he pulled up in the second of two back-to-back starts for the 21s.

Hibs boss David Gray, confirming Bowie’s availability to face the West of Scotland Premier League leaders, said: “One thing we won't do is take any unnecessary risks with him. But he's desperate to get back on the grass.

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“This wee last bit now will be where he needs to be patient and keep pushing to make sure he performs to a level. He’s done really well in his rehab.

“I think it's been tough for him. Even when he first joined the club, he was desperate to really kick on and show what he can do. And we were using him in brief spells at the start, managing his minutes because he was coming back from a previous long injury.

"So then to then score a goal when he came on against Dundee, have everyone talking about it and probably feeling like: “Right, I've arrived now.” To then get the setback again was a real challenge for him mentally as well.

“It's a difficult thing that when you've been out for a long period of time, you move to a new club, you're desperate to hit the ground running and then you get a setback again. But he's responded in a fantastic way.”

Leaner and stronger

Promising Hibs fans that they’ll see an even more impressive physical specimen when Bowie returns to action, Gray said: “He's a lot leaner, he's a lot stronger naturally because that's an area of the game you can work on. I'm looking forward to getting him back because he's been out for such a long time.

“I don't want to tempt fate, but he's had no setbacks during his whole rehab. Everything went as well as it could do and everything round about it is stronger than it was previously.

"That's what you're able to do when you are injured - focus on other areas of your game, areas of weakness. You can make your body more robust and stronger.

“Clearly now he needs minutes on the pitch, and he needs a bank of training behind him to ensure that we can manage that in the right way to try and get the best out of him. If we can do that, we know we've got a real asset on our hands.”

Nicky Cadden will miss out after suffering a broken nose in last weekend’s 3-1 win over Motherwell, but Mykola Kuharevich is available again. Joe Newell, Elie Youan and Marvin Ekpiteta remain sidelined through injury.

Hibs ‘bid’ addressed

Gray has also addressed reports that Hibs had bid over £700,000 for Finnish midfielder Matias Siltanen. The teenager, currently at KuPS, is one of several targets being considered by the Easter Road outfit.

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Insisting he wouldn’t be drawn on specifics, the manager didn’t shy away from the possibility of the board investing serious cash to bolster his starting XI during the January window, saying: “The support's always been there. And I think the message in this window is if something can be done that we believe makes us better, we've been very supportive of that, and we'll continue to do that, which is great.

“We’re always looking. Always. Obviously at this moment in time, it's just all speculation at the moment. But the work's continually trying to make sure we're being proactive. Making sure that if anything does come up, we can take the opportunity.

“I think naturally there will be ins and outs. Just whilst the window's open, things will start to move, especially later on in the window. You know how it works towards the last day of the window.

“So one thing we need to make sure is from the start of the window to the end of the window, we feel we're in a stronger position than when we started the window.

“Listen, I won't be getting dragged into anyone playing for any other clubs. You know, speculation is one thing. With the window being open, it'll always be there.

“But, you know, any other player that's contracted to any other club, I won't be getting dragged into names or anything like that. The only thing I can say is that we are working hard to try and improve if we think something can become available. And that's where we are at the moment.”