Neil Critchley has confirmed that Frankie Kent will be in the matchday squad for Hearts against Copenhagen.
The two sides face each other at the Parken Stadium tonight as both seek a win that would guarantee them a Europa Conference League knockout play-off round spot.
Central defender Kent’s return is a massive boost for Hearts after he missed the weekend’s 2-0 win over Dundee with a quad problem.
But Critchley will be without injury troubled midfielder Beni Baningime in Denmark, who isn’t quite ready to feature due to a knee problem.
Kent and Baningime Hearts news
Speaking to the press ahead of Copenhagen vs Hearts, Critchley said: “Beni isn’t ready for this game, so he’s not travelled with us. Hopefully, he’ll still be fine for the weekend.
“But Frankie has and travelled, so he obviously comes into contention for the squad and for the team.
“Musa (Drammeh) has travelled with us as well, but just to let you know that’s only because we’re training on Friday morning.
“Musa is not eligible, so if you see him, that’s not a curveball. He’s actually just here to train with us on Friday.”
Copenhagen not a ‘free hit’ for Hearts
Critchley is enthused by the prospect of playing against a strong Copenhagen at the Parken Stadium and insists Hearts won’t come to defend.
He also stressed this game isn’t a free hit and would rather qualify for the knockout play-off round tonight instead of against Petrocub at Tynecastle next Thursday.
Critchley said: “I’ve never been here before. It’s a fantastic stadium, isn’t it? It’s great surroundings and all the (Danish) international team play here as well.
“It’s a lovely city, a lovely part of the world. Hopefully, we can make it a great evening. Sometimes the best form of defence is to attack. If we just come here and try to park the bus, then that’ll be an issue.
“We’ve got to try and play our game as well and try and do our very best to control the game when we have those chances.
“Copenhagen are on a level, the same level par with Celtic and Rangers. So, we know the level that our game’s going to have to be at to compete, but we have competed in those games for long periods.
“We can draw confidence from that and we’ve created chances in all of those games as well. We know that we’re going to have to be good without the ball because we’re playing against a good team, technically, who control the game.
“You know, free hits, I don’t like those words. There’s no such thing. We’re above Copenhagen in this competition, so they need to win and we need to get something from the game.
“We missed an opportunity in Bruges. We didn’t perform well enough on the night. We don’t want to go to the last game. If that’s the case, then so be it, but we have an opportunity.
“We’re here and we’ll give it everything we can for our supporters, who are travelling in great numbers again. We will try to do everything we can to give them a great memory and a great evening.”