FERUZ FACING TRIAL OVER DRIVING CHARGES

CHELSEA striker Islam Feruz has appeared in court following a night in the cells after being accused of driving while banned. The 20-year-old, who joined Hibs on loan this week until the end of the season, was pulled over in Glasgow in the early hours of Wednesday while at the wheel of his black £80,000 Porsche. It is alleged that Feruz offered police the fake name ‘Saeed Cabadalla’ after he was stopped for allegedly driving without a licence or insurance and while banned. The Somali-born player, who fled to Scotland aged 10 with his family from their war-torn homeland, is believed to have spent the night in the cells before appearing at the city’s Justice of the Peace Court. The Scotland Under-21 international, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday, denied the offences. A trial date was set for next year and he was freed on bail. Hibs would not comment on the matter, but Sportsmail understands any disciplinary action is likely to wait until after the legal process has ended. Feruz (right) joined Chelsea from Celtic in a £300,000 deal in 2011, but his attitude and application have been questioned amid a series of failed loan spells, off-the-field incidents and claims he turned his back on his Scotland age-group team. When he was unveiled by Hibs this week, Feruz admitted he had ‘made mistakes’ in the past but vowed to use his loan spell under Alan Stubbs to prove he has reformed. Feruz, expected to be included in today’s squad for the visit of Alloa, has been joined at Easter Road by ex-Hearts defender

Adam Eckersley who signed a deal until January. Eckersley, 30, becomes the second former Tynecastle player to join Stubbs’ side, following in the footsteps of James Keatings, and will compete with Lewis Stevenson for a place at left-back when he recovers from knee surgery. Eckersley, who made 27 appearances for Hearts last season as they cantered to the Championship title, admitted the offer of a short-term deal at Hibs was too good to turn down. ‘Initially my plan was to go to America in January, so I was willing to see it out until then,’ said Eckersley. ‘Then I got a call asking if I wanted to come here. I was missing playing, so it was a no-brainer. ‘I’ve just come back from a knee operation, so I’ll be out for a couple of weeks but the manager says once I’m fit I’ll be pushing for a starting slot.’ Stubbs said: ‘Adam strengthens our defensive options and adds to the competition for places.’