Berra hopes to heal hurt from Scotland failure

Christophe Berra can make up for his Scotland hurt by helping to fire Hearts back into Europe, according to Jambos team-mate Jon McLaughlin.

Tynecastle skipper Berra was part of the Scots line-up which saw hopes of reaching next summer’s World Cup crumble in Slovenia on Sunday.

It is a bitter blow for a country which is now looking back on 20 years in the international wilderness.

McLaughlin knows Berra will be feeling low in the wake of that setback in Ljubljana, but the keeper believes grabbing a Europa League slot at the end of this season could be the perfect way to lift his captain’s spirits.

Hearts play their final game on the road this weekend away to Ross County before a 10-game run of fixtures all scheduled to take place within the city limits of Edinburgh.

And McLaughlin reckons his side – sitting seventh – will be able to start climbing the Ladbrokes Premiership table once they return to familiar surroundings.

Hearts defender Aaron Hughes will miss the match with a calf injury.

Levein’s only other absentee is midfielder Arnaud Djoum, who remains out with a knee injury.

Owen Coyle has no injury concerns for his first home match in charge of Ross County. Midfielder Christopher Routis comes back into contention after a hamstring injury.