Jambos injuries will not derail recent recovery
Craig Levein insists Hearts’ recovery from their campaign-threatening injury crisis will not be derailed by the loss of two more stars.
Having welcomed key men Christophe Berra, John Souttar, Steven Naismith and Uche Ikpeazu back into the fold in recent weeks, the Jam Tarts were rocked this week by new injuries to Michael Smith and Demi Mitchell.
But with another top performer in the shape of Peter Haring nearing fitness, Hearts’ manager is confident their latest crock shock will not hamper them too severely.
“I don’t think we are far from getting back to where we were,” said Levein. “Uche Ikpeazu is obviously quite central to that, as is Steven Naismith.
“We’ll get Peter Haring back shortly, it’s just unfortunate Demi Mitchell has a cartilage problem. Michael Smith being out is a kick in the teeth, too.” He added: “There were two things that were big problems earlier in the season – the areas of the park where we were struggling for players and the character of the players that were missing. “No disrespect to Demi, but Demi going out of the team and Steven Naismith going out of the team is different.
“Demi’s a young player just making his way and Steven’s one of the pillars of the team. But it was the character of the people.
“It wasn’t just that we were struggling for strikers, it was the character of the people we were missing.
“Although we have a couple of little niggling things going on just now, we’ll get Marcus Godinho back in, Clevid Dikamona can come back in, Conor Shaughnessy can come back in, Bobby Burns can come in, Jake Mulraney can come in.
“Up front now, Aidan Keena’s scoring, David Vanecek’s scoring, so I feel better about having injuries.
“There’s also Jamie Brandon, who’s had a tough time getting back from his cruciate operation. He’s been training, so we’ve got him as well.”
In Motherwell, Hearts face another in-form side today.
The Steelmen have won five in a row in the league and are gunning for a sixth to move them nearer the top half of the table.
For Levein, their manager, Stephen Robinson, deserves credit for transforming his side’s fortunes.
“I’ve watched a little bit of them,” said the Hearts gaffer. “They’ve changed a little bit.
“Curtis Main is still vitally important to them, but they’re playing more football than I’ve seen and the young laddies have made a difference, Hastie and Turnbull.
“I’ve watched them play for a while and it’s great to see more young, Scottish players getting opportunities. It’s great that Motherwell are doing that.”