Melker Hallberg 'making good progress' as Hibs midfielder targets injury comeback

The 25-year-old is yet to feature in a competitive fixture this term after dislocating his knee in pre-season.

The Swede returned to his homeland in the early stages of his recuperation but is back in the Capital with the club hopeful Hallberg can resume light running sooner rather than later.

His versatility has been a big miss for Hibs with the former Vejle man able to cover a number of positions on the pitch.

Chris Cadden has also resumed training as he steps up his return from a thigh tear. The 24-year-old sustained a freak back injury in the latter part of the 2020/21 campaign but as he worked on reaching full fitness during the close season, suffered a further setback.

Meanwhile club captain Paul Hanlon and influential midfielder Joe Newell are in contention for Sunday’s Edinburgh derby match against Hearts at Tynecastle Park.

Hanlon sustained a concussion last month and has missed Hibs’ last three games while an abdominal injury kept Newell out of the matches against Dundee and Livingston.

Talismanic winger Martin Boyle missed Australia’s 1-0 victory over Vietnam in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday but could yet be involved at the weekend if he is passed fit to play.

The 28-year-old scored a double in Hibs’ 2-0 win in Gorgie on Boxing Day last year and has so far hit eight goals in ten matches in all competitions.

Christian Doidge remains sidelined until December while Sean Mackie is also unavailable.

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