John Souttar is ahead of schedule in his bid to return from a year of injury issues after making his first team training comeback at Hearts' Riccarton base this week.
The 24-year-old suffered two ruptured Achilles issues in the space of six months from March last year after being stretchered off during a win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup.
His efforts to return before the start of Hearts' Championship campaign in October fell short after a repeat of the injury forced him to go under the knife to correct the issue, restricting him to a watching brief as his Tynecastle teammates stormed to the top of the second tier and reached the final of the Cup.
Manager Robbie Neilson said it would be another four weeks before Souttar was “even near” returning to part of a first team schedule.
But after seeing his bid to recruit Stuart Findlay from Kilmarnock at the end of the season fall flat, he had been handed a defensive boost by Souttar’s participation in ballwork during Wednesday’s session.
However, the Hearts boss remained clear that it was extremely unlikely he would play any part before the end of the season.
Speaking last week, Neilson said: “He is probably another month before he is even near coming in with us. Even then, it would just be low-end stuff like the warm up and the basic stuff at the start before he gets anywhere near it.
“John is doing brilliantly and he’s looking good. We just need to take our time with him. The aim is still to get him back for next season.”
Findlay has reportedly agreed a deal with MLS side Philadelphia Union after turning down a pre-contract offer at Tynecastle.
His arrival at the American club is likely to be confirmed by the end of the week, but it will force Neilson and new transfer chief Joe Savage back to the drawing board in their efforts to bolster the Gorgie side’s back line.
