Stephen Kingsley is unlikely to be fit for Hearts’ Scottish Cup tie at Brora Rangers on Tuesday.
The left back was forced off during the second half of their Championship stalemate at Arbroath on Saturday with what appeared to be a groin injury.
It’s another player missing for Robbie Neilson, who will head north without Craig Gordon, Michael Smith and Liam Boyce, who have all been called up for international duty with Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
That leaves Neilson short on full backs, with Aidy White now required to slot in for Kingsley at left back after Hearts had tried him on the right in a bounce game over Partick Thistle last week.
That could still happen with Andy Halliday utilised on the left hand side of the back four.
It should only be required in midweek however, with Neilson hopeful Kingsley will be available for next Saturday’s meeting with Queen of the South at Tynecastle.
He said: We’ll assess Stephen Kinglsey in the next couple of days. I don’t think he’ll make Tuesday but we’re hopeful we can maybe get him back for next Saturday.
“We’ve got a few international players away but we’ve got guys capable of coming in. We’ve got a good squad here so we’ve got enough to go up there.”
The reigning Highland League champions haven’t kicked a ball since 11 january when they defeated Camelon Juniors in the first round.
Hearts will be expected to win comfortably and Neilson is confident he’s seen enough of them despite limited games in order to know what to expect.
He told Hearts TV: “We saw them play Dundee and Hibs [in the Betfred Cup] prior to their games being canceled and I watched them at Camelon.
“They’ve got good energy in the team and they’ll definitely be up for the game because it’s a big one for them.
“Surface-wise it will be similar to Arbroath so it’s up to us to go and take care of the anomalies of the game, the difficulty of the pitch, the travel and everything and make sure we put on a performance.”
Hearts didn’t managed to do that at Gayfield as they were held to a 0-0.
However, results elsewhere meant they extended their lead at the top of the table after Dunfermline lost at home to Inverness.
“When you come in after the game, there’s the disappointment of not picking up three points,” said Neilson.
“But when you see that, it puts it into perspective. We’ve got six games to go and we want to win every game. We want to enjoy the run in and have good form for the Scottish Cup. We want to take that final step that we haven’t managed to do in the last couple of years.
“So we're disappointed not to take three points but it’s on to Brora now.”
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