Chris Cadden believes Kevin Nisbet will be like a new signing for Hibs and admits he's look 'absolutely brilliant' on the training ground.
The Hibs striker is expected to make his long-awaited comeback from injury as Lee Johnson's men take on English Championship side Middlesbrough as part of preparations ahead of the second half of the season. The capital club have been on a downward spiral of late going from third to eighth in the Premiership standings before the shutdown.
But they will be boosted by the return of their key striker when the action resumes against Rangers on December 15. While the Hibees first-team stars got given some time off the hitman continued to work hard in order to get himself as sharp and as ready as possible in what his gaffer previously described as almost like a 'mini pre-season'.
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Cadden and Co know it will take Nisbet time to get back to his very best and don't want to put him under too much pressure on his long-awaited return.
He told Edinburgh Evening News: “Losing Martin Boyle was obviously massive but losing Nizzy for that period of time has been huge. I’ve been so impressed with him ever since I came here; how good he is as a player, his goal-scoring ability, and how he trains.
“His goals are massive, but so is his hold-up play and things like that. He’s a great, great player and getting him back will be brilliant. He loves football and he loves scoring goals."
He continued: “He’s looked absolutely brilliant since coming back; it’s like he’s never been away. It’s going to take him a bit of time and we don’t want to put him under too much pressure, because he’s coming back from a long-term knee injury, but he’s going to be like a new signing for us, I think, because of how good he is.
"This break is coming at a good time for him as well, because he’s back in training and he can get some minutes in his legs in the friendlies we’ve got. He’s desperate to come back and a Nizzy who is desperate to play and who has something to prove will be fun to watch.”
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