Hibs star battling back to fitness as under-fire gaffer looks to turn season around

Joe Newell is back in full training and ready to get back into the Hibs starting XI – if selected. The club captain missed the last three games following a double hernia operation.

Now fully recovered, the midfielder has been working hard to regain his match sharpness in hope of securing a return to the line-up. And head coach David Gray intends to use the rest of the international break to get other key figures up to speed as Hibs face a make-or-break run of fixtures when they return to action.

Martin Boyle is still recovering from a hand/wrist operation that has forced the Socceroos winger to wear a removable cast but is expected to be pain-free in time to compete for a place – either in the starting XI or on the bench – against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday week.

That game kick-starts a run of winnable fixtures likely to set the tone for the rest of the season, with Hibs desperately in need of results to turn their campaign around. Currently sitting tenth in the Scottish Premiership table following a horrible home loss to Motherwell last weekend, they’re already ten points off the pace for third place.

The club announced today that home tickets for the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road on Sunday, October 27 have sold out. Given the current mood among supporters, that show of faith is also a reminder of expectations surrounding a game against a Hearts team in dire trouble themselves.

They then face a midweek trip to Dingwall to play Ross County, Dundee United at home in a game shifted from a Wednesday night in December, and St Mirren at home before the November international break. A run of wins in those games has the potential to completely change the atmosphere around the club – and buy rookie head coach Gray more time to complete his transformation of a squad inherited from a long sequence of unsuccessful predecessors.