James McPake and Tim Clancy set for Hibs return

McPake missed the win against Dundee United which took the Easter Road outfit two points clear at the top of the SPL table having suffered a back spasm, while Clancy sat out his second game in succession thanks to the stomach muscle injury which has dogged him in recent weeks.

But both centre-half McPake and right back Clancy have rejoined their team-mates in training, while Gary  Deegan was today expected to put in his first session since having his jaw broken in an unprovoked attack outside a  city centre nightspot five weeks ago.

Fenlon had expressed hope McPake, an influential figure both on the pitch and in the dressing-room, would get the green light for this weekend, disclosing he’d been pulled out of the United clash more as a precautionary measure saying: “We did not want to take a risk and lose him for longer.

“Both James and Tim have done a bit of training and we’ll see how they are as the week progresses.”

While there’s no target date for a return for Deegan, Fenlon believes just getting back into training will be a boost for the midfielder, who, he had earlier revealed, had been left feeling low and “a bit depressed” at his enforced period of inactivity.

He said: “Gary has had a bit of good news from the doctors. He can start doing some light stuff from today with the fitness coach. We’ll see how that goes and take it from there into the more strenuous stuff.”

Meanwhile, Fenlon has described reports claiming he is set to make a move for two players – Chris Forrester of St Patrick’s Athletic, and Shamrock Rovers’ Ronan Finn – in the January transfer window, as “absolute rubbish”, the Hibs manager making clear his first priority is to extend the deals of loan stars Leigh Griffiths, Jorge Claros and Ryan McGivern.