Robbie Neilson hopes to welcome back at least two of his injured Hearts stars for the Premiership clash with Celtic.
The Jambos have been hit hard with a large number of players in the medical room with the strains of domestic and European football taking toll on the capital club. Despite their woes, they are only three points behind capital rivals Hibs, having played a game less, in third spot.
Ange Postecoglou's league leaders come to Tynecastle flying having fired four past Motherwell at Fir Park to reach the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals. Liel Abada netted a double while Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi fired solo efforts in a comfortable victory. That triumph earned a showdown with Kilmarnock at Hampden with just potentially 90 minutes separating the holders from another date with destiny.
READ MORE: Hearts hero Colin Cameron explains 'strange' connection with Hibs favourite after football return
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Speaking ahead of hosting Celtic in Gorgie this weekend, Neilson said: “We should have a couple back, which is great. We’re starting to slowly get there. The only one we’re sure on is Peter Haring, who’ll miss out owing to the according concussion protocols. It’s disappointing but we’re happy to get a few back.
“This is the first week we’ve had without a European game for a while which is helpful as it allows us to train and recover properly. We’ll get a few guys back soon and hopefully some more by the end of the month which’ll allow us to move forward.”
He added: “There’s no doubt that Celtic have a very good starting eleven, but a good second eleven as well. You’ve got between eighteen and twenty international players,” he added. “They’ve got their Champions League game on Tuesday so, whether they rotate or not, our aim will be to try and match them and get the three points.
“The league, in my opinion, will be very tight this year. There’s a number of teams that will be around that fourth, fifth, and sixth spot so we need to make sure that we’re the ones at the top of that.”
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