CROCKED GRAY WILL GET A REST
NEIL LENNON insists David Gray is due a well-earned rest after the Hibs captain played through the pain barrier.
The full-back has endured a stop-start campaign as he battles a knee injury.
Gray was taken off after 65 minutes of the 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone 12 days ago, while his previous game against Dundee saw him replaced at the interval.
Lennon left the 29-year-old out of the squad to face Hamilton at the weekend.
And the manager said: “David has had a problem with his knee for a few weeks now, there’s a degeneration there.
“He’s had a scan so he needs a bit of rest. There’s a lot of inflammation. He’s been strapping it up and playing through it, which has not been fair on him.
“But with Steven Whittaker back fit it’s probably a good time to give David a bit of a break.
“The medical advice suggests it shouldn’t be too long and we’ll get him back on the training ground fresh.”
Lennon hopes to be able to call upon playmaker Danny Swanson for the festive fixtures in December, which include games against Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts.
The 30-year old midfielder has made just one appearance since September 19 as he battles a persistent medial ligament issue in his knee.
It’s an injury Swanson has endured in the past and Lennon is loathe to rush the player back.
The Hibs boss added: “Danny has had a couple of setbacks with his medial ligament and we’ve not seen much of him during the week on the training ground in terms of rehab.
“He’s just a little bit ginger on it at the moment.
“I’d like him back for the games coming up in December. I’m pretty sure we’ll see him in the next week or two. But he has had this injury before and is just a little bit wary of it.
“I’m hoping in two weeks’ time he’ll be fully fit to play.” performances were kind of the opposite of the results the team were getting.
“At least he got the full win bonus against Hibs. You can see he has a future and can play at this level. In his first game he was up against Scott Sinclair. He kept him relatively quiet and again in the recent game with Celtic.
“I told Aaron that’s the hardest match you get in Scotland. If you go into every other game with the mentality of, ‘I can do this because I’ve done it against the best’, it will stand you in good stead.
“Once he’s back fit there will be competition to see who is playing. That can only benefit the team.”