Hibs manager Paul Heckingbottom has dashed hopes that Martin Boyle will be ready to return to action after the international break.
The winger suffered a knee injury while playing for Australia in January, and having returned to the team in pre-season he suffered a recurrence in a League Cup match with Elgin City.
That was expected to keep him out until 2020, but the 26-year-old offered fans hope that he could return sooner.
Responding to a question on Twitter, Boyle stated that he'd be ready to return after this month's international break.
That has been contradicted by the Hibs manager though, who insists Boyle needs time before he'll be considered for selection.
Heckingbottom told the Edinburgh Evening News : "He is not going to get thrown straight back in.
"He is going to have to train and play games before he plays first team football."
Boyle's second operation involved removing the cartilage from his knee, rather than attempting to repair it as surgeons had done in the first operation.
Heckingbottom does have other options in the wide areas, including Rangers loanee Glenn Middleton .
Yesterday though the youngster sparked speculation that his loan could be cut short, as he removed all reference to Hibs from his social media, including the statement in his Twitter bio that he is "on loan to @hibernianfc".
Under SPFL rules a non-emergency loan must last until at least the transfer window after the loan agreement is reached, so Middleton couldn't be registered to play for Rangers until January if his current deal were to be terminated.
