Hearts have received some good news on the injury front concerning one of their most important players. There were fears that John Souttar could be out for a long time after suffering an ankle injury in the 3-2 loss to Aberdeen.
However, the Evening News is reporting that the player should only be out of action for around three weeks. It is a blow for the Tynecastle side that Souttar will miss some games.
A bonus that the injury isn’t severe
However, the fact that he will only miss two or three games for Hearts can only be considered a bonus. The Tynecastle club are also fortunate to have players available to can replace Souttar in the team.
Summer signing Craig Halkett can replace Souttar if Hearts decide to revert to four at the back. Interestingly, they started with three at the back against Aberdeen, with Halkett, Souttar and Christophe Berra all playing.
No need to sign another centre-back
Should Souttar return in three weeks then the Tynecastle side will not need to dip into the transfer market. If his injury had been a lengthy one, then perhaps Craig Levein might have thought about bringing in a loan centre-back.
However, as it is not the case, Hearts will not need to sign another centre-back. Hearts will hope to Souttar back sooner rather than later. However, when it comes down to it, being out for three weeks is fine compared to being out for months.
Injuries were a huge issue for Hearts last season. They won’t want the same thing to happen this season.