Craig Halkett insists Hearts did NOT rush him back from injury to face RFS in Riga as he gave an insight to his recovery progress.
The Jambos have been without the key defender and summer recruit Kye Rowles for an extended period with Robbie Neilson's men suffering massively on the injury front but that looks set to change with the stopper admitting everything is 'going well' and he is hopeful things won't be too much longer.
Halkett's two injuries have been issues with his hamstring but he is adamant he wasn't quickly thrown back in in the last Europa Conference League meeting with tomorrow night's opposition in Riga. He trained the night before the game and insisted he felt fine.
READ MORE: Hearts vs RFS on TV: Channel, kick-off time and live stream details for Europa Conference clash
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Results haven't been going the way of Hearts as they juggle European competition with domestic matters. The injury list has been mounting over the weeks with the World Cup break just weeks away now - which should come as a boost to the capital men as they bid to get everyone back fit and firing for the return in mid December.
Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, he said: “It's been a bit of a slow process, but everything is going well now. I've been back outside for a couple of weeks and starting to ease my way back into full training, so hopefully not too much longer.
“I don't really have a goal in mind, to be honest. It's not 'it's going to be four weeks, it's going to be two weeks' it's just about taking every day as it comes. Then the decision will likely be made two or three days before the game whenever I'm fully ready to come back.
“It was the hamstring problem both times, really. I did get a calf issue but that was just a minor thing which cleared up after a few days and it's just been the hamstring again. It's just been something that's been quite niggling and is taking its time to get back to 100 per cent.
“I wasn't rushed back at all for the game in Riga. I felt fine. I'd done training the night before.
“I think if we're looking at the bigger picture it goes back to the end of last season where I delayed surgery on my ankle to play in the cup final. It was just more about missing a couple of weeks of pre-season. I was behind the rest of the squad.
"Obviously I managed to get through three or four games at the start of the season without anything, but I was always in a higher risk category of picking up an injury just because I'd done a wee bit less training than everyone else. It was more about that rather than being rushed back.”
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