Hibs star gets devastating injury verdict - and won't be back until 2025

Kieron Bowie in action for Scotland Under-21s against Malta prior to going off injured. (Photo by Domenic Aquilina / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Kieron Bowie will be out of action for a MINIMUM of four months after suffering a serious hamstring injury on international duty. But Hibs boss David Gray insists signing free agent striker Dwight Gayle was not a knee-jerk move in search of a quick replacement for the Scotland Under-21 star.

Summer signing Bowie was being nursed back to full fitness from a previous hamstring problem during the early part of the season, with Gray restricting the £600,000 forward to substitute appearances. But he started against Spain and then Malta for Scott Gemmill’s Scotland team, pulling up late in the first half of Tuesday night’s 5-0 hammering of the island minnows.

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As Hibs medical staff confirmed that Bowie would be out until January at the very earliest, Gray admitted: “It's a real frustrating one from our point of view. He's damaged that hamstring again so he's going to be out for a significant period, which is really tough to take considering how positive a start he made and how we managed his minutes since the start of the season.

“Before he went the dialogue between us and Scotland was to manage his minutes and look after him, so that happened. He'd come off the bench a few times for us, so he was due to get a start, that was a natural progression. We thought it was the right thing for him to go and do but you can't predict what's going to happen. It's really frustrating for everyone. “

Asked if yesterday’s signing of 34-year-old former Newcastle and Crystal Palace striker Gayle was linked to the Bowie injury, Gray insisted: “No, but I understand why people would think that. Dwight's someone we've been monitoring for a while - I think that actually got leaked at one point - but he's someone we've brought in for obvious reasons.

“His quality, his experience, I know a few players who have played with him, and they speak so highly of him. He showed an interest in coming to Scotland we were delighted to get it done. It's a real positive one for us.”