Hibs trio out of Malisheva clashes as new signing and forward beat fitness concerns to make matches
Hibs have confirmed their squad to take on Malisheva.
Hibs will be missing a key duo for their Conference League second round qualifiers with Malisheva, their UEFA squad list has revealed.
David Gray’s side will face the Kosovan side away from home on July 23 before a return leg at Easter Road seven days later. It’s been confirmed that midfielder Jamie McGrath and left-wing-back Nicky Cadden have not made the cut with their respective calf problems. Gray had already confirmed Cadden’s was set to sideline him for weeks but McGrath’s was an issue there was some optimism around.
New signing Callum Wright has been named in the 25-man group after a thigh problem and forward Ante Suto is in the mix after a medial issue. Josh Campbell’s hamstring tightness meanwhile has not prevented him from inclusion but it remains to be seen how big a part they play across the two legs. Centre-back Rocky Bushiri is the other senior absentee out injured with his Achilles rehab while midfielder Alasana Manneh is not included amid limited game time at Easter Road.
David Gray on Hibs fitness status
Gray said of the injury situation after Saturday’s friendly win over Brondby: “Martin Boyle’s just a contact, he's just got a sort of bang on the shin, so he's absolutely fine, that should settle down very quickly. He was always coming off around the 60-minute mark anyway, so that wasn't an issue at all. Callum's maybe one where I just have to monitor, because again he was just a tightness in his thigh.
“He thinks he's fit and positive, it's nothing too serious, but at the same time just sort of tightened up in that first half, and clearly we're not going to take a chance at that stage, just before half-time as well. So again he was one that's missed a wee bit of pre-season, at the start with a toe injury, missed the first couple of games, so he was always down just to play 45 minutes anyway.
“We weren’t going to take any risks, so hopefully that's nothing too significant. The other ones that are missing were Jamie McGrath, Josh Campbell and Nicky Cadden. Josh Campbell felt a little bit of tightness in his hamstring, but he's absolutely fine, so he'll train tomorrow fully, but again we weren't going to rush him.
What is Hibs’ injury situation?
“Jamie and Nicky each picked up a little bit of a calf issue. Nicky will be out for a wee bit longer unfortunately, he could be a couple of weeks, maybe three weeks or so. We’ve not fully put a timescale on that one yet, but he'll definitely be longer. With Jamie, we're hoping it’s just days rather than weeks, but he might struggle for Thursday. In fact he probably will struggle for Thursday, add we’re certainly not going to take a risk on that one.
“Ante Suto as well, he picked up a little bit of a medial issue in training, just overstretched. We’re more positive for him, he was back on the grass doing finishing drills and things today. So we had hoped to try and get him in the squad , it came just too soon, but he's going definitely in the right direction. It was a bit of a weird one really, because it's just an innocuous thing in training, but his return should be fairly quick.”