MIKO ON ROAD TO RECOVERY
Pre-season return target after op success
Hamilton head coach Stuart Taylor is hoping to have midfielder Miko Virtanen back in time for pre-season after the former Aberdeen starlet underwent surgery.
The Finnish youth international has struggled with an Achilles injury in 2022 and hasn’t featured since a 1-0 Championship loss to Dunfermline on January 15.
Now Virtanen has undergone a procedure and will aim to be back by the time Taylor’s team return for their preparations ahead of next term’s second tier season.
Accies know they will be playing Championship football when the 22/23 campaign kicks off after a 1-0 loss to title-chasing Arbroath ended their promotion play-off hopes last Saturday.
While waiting to see how long the 23-year-old will be out for, Taylor was happy to have Joe Hilton back in his squad against Dick Campbell’s side, after the goalkeeper suffered knee ligament damage less than two months ago.
He said: “Miko went for an operation at the start of the week. It went well, so we are waiting to hear back from the specialist and surgeon on that.
“It’s too soon (for a timescale).
He has to go to a specialist in a couple of weeks so we will find out then when he gets the stitches out and everything. Hopefully he will be with us at the start of pre-season.
“It was good to get Joe back. He’s a great character in and around the dressing room. Joe came in and did very well, progressing and improving.
“We were gutted when he got his injury (against Morton in February), but he’s worked hard to get back.”
While their promotion hopes for the season are over, Taylor’s side are looking to finish as high as they can, sitting seventh and taking on sixth-placed Morton this weekend.
Victory would take them above the Ton – managed by Accies legend Dougie Imrie – while guaranteeing they can’t be dragged into the relegation play-off mix.
The 47-year-old added: “The squad are hurt from Saturday’s defeat. They are hurt by not achieving what we tried to get up to. We were deflated.
“When we came in for training, the mood was back to normal and the standard is really good.
“We want to put it right at the weekend but we know it’s going to be a very difficult game. Our ambition is to win as many games as we can.”