Shock injury verdict for Hibs starter facing long spell on side lines with 'innocuous' training ground strain

Hibs stopper Marvin Ekpiteta could be out for up to TEN weeks after picking up an “innocuous” thigh injury in training. And head coach David Gray admits the centre-half will be sorely missed - after finally beginning to show some form following a chaotic start to his time in Scotland.

Ekpiteta has missed the last two games with the injury and, providing an update earlier today, Gray admitted: “We don't know exactly, but it's a number of weeks, so it'll be eight weeks, ten weeks, something like that. So it is quite a significant injury, unfortunately.

“Absolutely, he will be missed. He maybe had a bit of a tough start, adapting to Scottish football. Just the challenges of playing, and even just the two games back-to-back against Celtic. That’s a bit of a baptism of fire for someone coming fresh into the league.

“But I think since then, he's defended really well and really settled into the team. And it's a big blow for him because, as you say there, he was really finding his feet in this league.”

Explaining how Ekpiteta had picked up the injury, Gray said: “Really innocuous in training, just a simple 10-yard pass. He stepped into the ball, went to pass it, and unfortunately just overstretched his thigh in that moment, which is unfortunate. One thing is, is he's very positive.

“You can't worry about things you can't affect moving forward. So he's been as positive as he can to try and get back as quick as he can.”