Robbie Neilson has provided an injury update on defensive trio Craig Halkett, Kye Rowles and Lewis Neilson.
Summer recruit Rowles has been missing since the end of last month after picking up an injury against St Johnstone while team-mate Halkett spent a spell on the sidelines before making a return to the pitch against RFS in Latvia. However, that only lasted 20 minutes before he was forced off one again.
The key Hearts defender could return for the weekend showdown with Rangers at Tynecastle as domestic football returns following the international break - but if he doesn't make that one he will definitely be available for the Europa Conference League meeting with Serie A outfit Fiorentina. Rowles is still a number of weeks away from a return to full fitness but he should be back on the pitch with enough time to get a number of games under his belt before jetting out with Australia to Qatar for the World Cup finals.
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Young defender Neilson has stepped up to the plate in the absence of the key defensive duo and put in a string of strong performances. He withdrew from Scotland Under-21s duty but he will be fit and firing to face Rangers on Saturday in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, Neilson said: “Halkett is pushing this week and we will see where he is for the weekend. If he doesn’t make it this week then he will definitely make the next game. He had the hamstring, then a calf issue, then he came back and tweaked it again.
“We are trying to make sure that, when we get him back, he is back for good. If we are pushing him for these big games then there is going to be a risk. He has been a key player for us over the last couple of years.
“We want him back as soon as possible but there is that balance over how quickly we bring him back. He did individual training on Monday. I expect him back with the squad probably by the end of the week."
On his young namesake and Rowles, he added: “Lewis will be fine. He had a tight hamstring. He was feeling it after our last game at Motherwell and it flared up a wee bit, but I would expect him to be ready for the weekend.
“It’s great for him to come in and play. He did well for us in the last couple of games and he got his Scotland Under-21 call-up. He is still a young kid but he is maturing quickly. We’ve had Toby Sibbick coming in, Nathaniel Atkinson, Andy Halliday has had to drop into different positions. They have all done well.
“It’s part of having a squad. We spoke at the start of the season about getting players in who can play in a couple of positions. These guys have proven that they can play in different areas of the back four or back five.
“Rowles will still be another few weeks. He is on course to come back a few weeks before the World Cup to give him some game time.
"He should have a few games under his belt by the time the World Cup comes so I would expect around the middle to end of October for him.”
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