Lewis Neilson looked to be out of the picture once again at Hearts but could now play a key role in the coming weeks.
The defender, 21, had a glimpse of first-team opportunity at Tynecastle in the 2022/23 season and was understandably inconsistent as a 19-year-old.
Sent off on a loan to Partick Thistle the following campaign, that was fairly successful as he played regularly and almost helped them to promotion from the Championship.
This season it was off to McDiarmid Park with St Johnstone to try and get some top flight experience into him and again that got him games, with Neilson playing 18 times.
But with Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley handing Hearts a double injury blow, he was needed back in Gorgie and was recalled when the January transfer window opened.
Neil Critchley moved to rectify the centre-half position though and has brought in Michael Steinwender and Jamie McCart.
That meant Neilson was down the pecking order and looked set to head out on loan again.
Neilson’s Hearts whirlwind
Not selected in the Hearts squad for Saturday’s win over Kilmarnock, the youngster was supposed to head in early for training. But that all changed with Daniel Oyegoke’s impending transfer to Hellas Verona meaning he was left out.
Neilson was promoted to the subs’ bench and, as fate would have it, Craig Halkett suffered an early injury and had to be replaced.
It was a whirlwind 24 hours as he went on to play for the majority of the 3-2 win and his appearance means he has now played for two clubs this season so can’t go out on loan again, unless it was to St Johnstone.
“I wasn’t even in the squad for Saturday”, Neilson explained to the Edinburgh Evening News. “I got a text late on Friday saying: ‘Training tomorrow morning before the game.’ I think I got a text a couple of hours later saying: ‘Actually, you’re in the squad now.’
“I was ready, I was training 100 per cent and giving my all. When the opportunity came – sadly it looks like Halks has picked up a wee injury – I’m there to take my chance.
“I had a decent spell at St Johnstone and was playing most games. When I was pulled back, I was half expecting to get a chance.
“In the last few weeks, the boys have been doing really well, especially defensively, so I wasn’t getting any minutes and that was a wee bit frustrating for me. Then there were talks of going back out on loan to a number of different teams.
“After Saturday, I can’t go anywhere, so hopefully I can keep my spot on the team and kick on.”
Neilson determined to take Hearts chance
Now feeling like a bona fide Hearts player after perhaps not having that confidence as a 19-year-old, he is desperate to make the most of the chance that has presented itself.
“Yeah, 100%. I’m staying at Hearts and I love being here at Hearts,” he said. “I’ve never been able to get in the team and stay in the team, but that’s always been my ideal situation. So now I’ve got this wee opportunity, hopefully I can stay in the team.
“We had a good few chats with the manager. He wasn’t too sure in terms of what incomings and outgoings there were going to be, which is totally understandable in football. So I was told: ‘Just be ready if your chance comes.’
“As I said, it was looking like the chance wasn’t going to come. We’ve brought in Michael with Halks, Jamie, so there looked to be plenty cover in that position.
“Then we spoke about looking for a loan. Obviously, that’s changed now but that’s football at the end of the day and you’ve just got to be ready.
“I wasn’t too surprised when I got recalled in terms of injuries with [Stephen] Kingsley, Frankie [Kent]. But yeah, there was plenty of cover there and you’ve seen talks of new centre-halves coming in.
“You can’t let that get to you too much. You’ve been brought back, you’ve just got to train as well as you can and show the gaffer that you are ready for a chance if it comes.”