Newell confident he will recover in time for Hampden
JOE NEWELL insists he will be fit for this weekend’s Hampden showdown with St Johnstone and is convinced Hibernian can reach the Betfred Cup final.
The midfielder missed Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock with a groin strain but expects to return to full training later this week ahead of Saturday’s semi-final.
The influential 27-yearold had previously been an ever-present in the league and manager Jack Ross will be thrilled if the former Peterborough and Rotherham player shrugs off injury to make himself available.
Newell said: “I pulled my groin in the Celtic game, which I had done about three days previous to the Celtic game.
“As soon as it went in the Celtic game I knew I would be out for [Saturday]. But I should be alright for this week. I’m 99.5 per cent certain.
“There’ll be a few more days of rehab and then hopefully I’ll be training in the middle of the week. Maybe Wednesday or
Thursday, hopefully I’ll be back training then. I should be fine.”
Hibs, who handed debuts to new signings Jackson Irvine and Chris Cadden against Killie, could also have keeper Ofir Marciano and midfielder Kyle Magennis back for the trip to the national stadium.
And Newell is confident Saturday’s victory – a first in five matches following shock home defeats to Ross County and Livingston, and last week’s 1-1 draw with an understrength Celtic – will give the Easter Road side belief.
With their last trip to Hampden ending in defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final, Newell added: “It’s a big win. We had a little bit of a sticky spell just after Christmas with the two home games.
“Nizzy [Kevin Nisbet] scoring in the last minute against Celtic might have just been that little turning point for us after that bit of bad form.
“So, hopefully we can kick on now because it’s a big win, it’s an important win, and we can go into this week with confidence now.”