Hearts boss Robbie Neilson is hopeful that John Souttar will be fit to return to his side for tonight’s Premiership clash with Dundee as they look to bounce back after their 5-0 Ibrox thrashing.
Souttar is one of a number of defenders out of action for the Jambos through injury, joining Michael Smith and Craig Halkett on the treatment table but Neilson refused to use it as an excuse for their humbling in Glasgow.
While Neilson confirmed that he expects to see Souttar return to action tonight, Smith and Halkett both face a wait – although Smith should return within a matter of days.
“The guys that came in played the game previously as well and did really well in the derby, defensively.” Neilson said.
“I don’t think we can look at that, but we lost Halkett, Souttar and Smith – three out of the back five – so it has a small bearing on it, but, ultimately, we just weren’t good enough on the night.
“He (Souttar) trained full today so I would expect him to be ready for tomorrow night.
“It’s still the ankle problem, like I said before, he got a knock on it so it takes time to settle down.
“I would expect (Smith) to be back for the weekend.
“He got an injection at the start of the week, it takes a couple of days to settle down and he should be fine after that.”
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