Hearts will be without key defender Craig Halkett for their clash with Fiorentina at Tynecastle on Thursday night.
Robbie Neilson's men go into the Europa Conference League group stage showdown in second place in the section and know they can strengthen their grip on the qualification spot for the knockout stages with a positive result under the lights in the capital. However, they will need to do it without the 27-year-old with injuries still disrupting his campaign. He limped off against FC Zurich in the Europa League qualifying play-off match and on his return from injury lasted just 20 minutes against RFS in Riga .
He now looks set to miss another big European night for the Jambos in a major blow to club boss Neilson. He missed the final training session at the Oriam ahead of facing the Serie A side and could also miss the weekend league meeting with Kilmarnock and next week's return showdown in Florence.
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Speaking earlier this week about Fiorentina, Neilson said: “We have started to watch them. Our analyst has done all his work and we know they are a very, very good team. Technically, they play a very high and aggressive line. Their centre-halves squeeze the game massively, one of them going all the way in [to midfield].
“There is a lot of space in behind them as a result. Our decision will be what we do here. Tynecastle, under the lights, on a Thursday night, we have to have a go.
"We need to have energy, pace and look to take the game to them. On the tight pitch here, we want to go after it and bring that positivity back again.”
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