Hearts boss Neil Critchley has told Calem Nieuwenhof to prepare for a baptism of fire when he eventually returns from injury.
The Aussie midfielder has been sidelined for a whopping 10 months due to a torn hamstring and is yet to make a significant impact at Tynecastle after signing from Western Sydney Wanderers in 2023.
Critchley has told the press for weeks now that Nieuwenhof is closing in on a return – and it’s been said that could be against Brechin City in the Scottish Cup next week.
There are no guarantees on that, but Critchley has warned that the midfielder needs to be fully prepared for his return because he will be expected to make an impact for Hearts straight away.
Critchley warns Hearts midfielder Nieuwenhof
Critchley said: “There’ll be no easing himself back in at Brechin, I can assure you of that. There’s no easing their way in. When they’re on the pitch, they’re expected to perform.
“It’s not: ‘Let’s just give them 20 minutes here and there and treat it like a pre-season game.’ When they’re on the pitch, they need to be ready to perform.
“I’m not saying that (playing against Brechin) won’t happen, by the way, because sometimes the games allow you to do that.
“But no, if Calem is going to be ready, then we need to think about what’s best for him in the next couple of weeks.”
Gerald Taylor update
Critchley also touched on full-back Gerald Taylor, who is a few weeks away from returning from a knee injury.
But Hearts boss admits the Costa Rican – as well as Niuewenhof – may be thrown straight back into the deep end because they are not able to play B-team games.
Critchley continued: “Gerald has only just come back into team training. Calem has obviously taken longer because he’s been out for longer, but he’s been training for longer.
“They’ve had no football in terms of time on the pitch, which is something we’ve discussed and hopefully we can rectify that in the next week or two.
“One of the stumbling blocks is those players can’t play B-team games because of the rules.
“I think it would be difficult – although we might have to do it – to expect Calem and Gerald just to come straight into a big league game, for instance, with having no minutes on the pitch whatsoever.”