Hearts boss Craig Levein has revealed that one of his side’s key men is unlikely to return from injury in time for their next league game.
John Souttar has been out of action since suffering an ankle injury in the opening league game of the season. Unfortunately for Hearts, the centre-back looks set to miss another game as the Tynecastle side battle to recover from a poor start to the season.
The player has been forced to wear a protective boot to aid his recovery from his ankle problem. After a brief spell out of the boot, he has been forced to wear it once more.
“Wasn’t quite right”
“John is back in the boot and resting. He came out of it and tried to do some work and the injury wasn’t quite right, so he’s back in the boot again” he said, as reported by the Edinburgh Evening News.
“I don’t think he will make the Motherwell game either.”
Levein will be hoping that Souttar returns for Hearts’ game following the Motherwell game, which is against Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.
Need is pressing for good results
However, that could be a gamble, as Souttar has been out of action for over a month. The need is pressing for Hearts to get good results though.
That is why Levein may bring Souttar back into the Hearts side for the derby. However, that will depend on when his protective boot is removed.