Hibs captain David Gray out for 12 weeks after sustaining knee ligament damage

The 31-year-old came off second best in a robust challenge with Saints left-back Scott Tanser, and was forced to make way for Steven Whittaker with around an hour played.

The club has confirmed the damage is not related to any of Gray's previous injuries.

The former Preston and Stevenage defender had only recently returned from another injury lay-off, and with summer signing Tom James unavailable for the next two weeks or so as he recovers from an ankle injury picked up in the opening day win over St Mirren, Whittaker will likely be asked to continue at right-back in the meantime.

Gray's injury is the latest setback for Paul Heckingbottom's defence. Darren McGregor is also out for the foreseeable future after sustaining an injury in the 5-3 Betfred Cup win over Morton, while Lewis Stevenson made his first league start against Tommy Wright's side after overcoming his own injury worries.

Young defender Ryan Porteous has only just returned to the first-team squad after being out since January with a knee issue.

A statement from Hibs read: "We look forward to seeing the influential right-back return to the fold when he's completed his rehabilitation programme."