Kevin Nisbet won't be back in action for Hibs until after the World Cup, Hibs manager Lee Johnson has confirmed.
The Hibees boss has been providing an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of Friday night's Premiership match against St Johnstone at Easter Road, where VAR will be used for the first time in a domestic Scottish game. Nisbet has been out long-term with a knee injury but will need to wait until after November for his return, while there are other concerns for Johnson to consider.
Referencing Biggie Smalls and his hit song, the Hibees boss says there could also be changes to the XI after a humblign 6-1 loss against Celtic on Saturday. Johnson explained: "Kevin won't be back. It is far too early. He won't be back before the break. I'd be very surprised if medical allow me to put him on the pitch before then. Paul Hanlon got a knock in training today but he should be alright. I shouldn't have played Mykola (Kukharevych) at Celtic to be honest.
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"He had a bad back and he wasn't right. But he's trained fully. Elias Melkersen after his concussion just hasn't been 100% right. He's not been bad but he did have four or five weeks off. He's one to consider, Lewis Miller has a hamstring strain and Momodou Bojang the groin.
"You always have food for thought. We are a very different squad to what we were even six weeks ago, with players coming back and players coming into the squad.
"I feel like sometimes it's Mo Money, Mo Problems in that sense. You can have more players knocking on the door. There were three or four good performances but six or seven fell short of where we need to be at Celtic and nobody has an argument if I change the team quite drastically."
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