Shaun Maloney gives update on six injured Hibs players - and when they might be back in action

January signing Harry Clarke is yet to kick a ball for Hibs while defensive duo Paul Hanlon and Paul McGinn remain sidelined alongside midfielder Kyle Magennis, Demi Mitchell, and Joe Newell.

Newell hasn't featured since the Edinburgh derby at the start of March while Mitchell limped off in the latter stages of the 3-1 Scottish Cup victory over Arbroath.

Magennis has been out since September while McGinn was forced off after just 12 minutes of the recent trip to Ibrox and Hanlon has missed the last seven games with a heel problem.

Joe Newell and Paul Hanlon are the closest players to a return - but it won't be soon

But, says Maloney, the situation doesn’t look like improving any time soon.

"Paul Hanlon has been quite a difficult one to put a timeframe on. Even really early on I felt it was game-to-game, we were giving him as much time as possible.

"Paul and Joe Newell have got the best chance of coming back first but I'll be honest; the next two or three games I'm not sure we'll be able to count them in the squad,” he said.

Mitchell allayed fears that his injury would keep him out for the rest of the season when he appeared at a fans’ question-and-answer session earlier this week but despite that, the outlook remains somewhat bleak.

"We're getting to a stage where the players have been out for a certain amount of time that we have to then integrate them back in.

"I don't see those six really changing in the next few games, unfortunately,” Maloney added.

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