Josh Ginnelly is in the frame to return for Hearts in a major boost as Steven Naismth explained his recent absence.
The speedy attacker missed the Edinburgh derby defeat to Hibs at Easter Road last time out as Lee Johnson's men picked up the bragging rights thanks to Kevin Nisbet's second half winner. It meant a fifth Premiership defeat on the bounce for the Jambos, who now trail Aberdeen by five points in the race for third and are just two points ahead of the men from Leith.
Hearts are desperate to get back to winning ways and have a huge six games of the season to play as they bid for back to back best of the rest finishes behind Celtic and Rangers. Ginnelly had been a key player under Robbie Neilson this season before his sacking and he is likely to play a vital role in the run-in for the Gorgie side.
READ MORE: Cammy Devlin 'devastated' by Hibs derby defeat and says Hearts players only have themselves to blame
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Providing an update on the attacker ahead of the Saturday lunchtime kick-off with strugglers Ross County, Naismith explained to Edinburgh Evening New : “I think we should have him back. That's why he wasn't involved at the weekend, to minimise that risk that he maybe breaks down.
"Now we think he is over his issues, which then gives us another option going forward. He has a couple of niggles that have been bothering him and he has actually been playing through them.
"It's a combination of things, to be honest. We wanted to make sure he was past those niggly ones because they have a big impact on how you play.
"I didn't want to use him last week to potentially get a Gino that is not at the kind of level he has been at consistently this season. I didn't want to compromise on that because we have these six games still to come.”
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