Beni Baningime is edging closer towards a return as the Hearts star admits he's 'feeling good'.
Robbie Neilson has been without the key midfielder for an extended period with hard work going on behind the scenes to return to full fitness. An exact time frame has not been placed on the former Everton trainee but he says his gym work has allowed him to get stronger and he is getting better with each passing day. He said: “I’m feeling good, it’s getting better – slowly. I won’t have to run as much in rehab because I’ve been doing more gym work and getting stronger.”
Hearts have been rocked by a number of injuries in the first half of the campaign as they juggled domestic matters with Europa Conference League football. Key men such as Craig Halkett and Kye Rowles missed chunks of the campaign. The latter returned to fitness pre World Cup and starred for Australia as they reached the knockout stages before defeat to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
READ MORE: Hearts boss Robbie Neilson on the 'huge' Scottish Cup Euro guarantee with Hibs derby on horizon
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Liam Boyce is also a long-term absentee for the capital club and has been doing his rehab from his ruptured ligament alongside Baningime. The duo have been pushing each other on and have become close pals through the process.
He added: “We’ve been keeping each other company. We’ve got quite close, he’s a great player and the team misses him. We’ve been pushing each other to get back and help the team.”
The Premiership shutdown has allowed Neilson to give his players a rest before getting the group back together to work hard in their bid to once again finish third behind Celtic and Rangers and secure another European adventure.
They trail Aberdeen by five points at this stage of the season with plenty of football to come. The Gorgie side will hope to have a much bigger pool of players to select from after the break while the January transfer window is just a couple of weeks away.
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