HIBERNIAN have been struck a major blow after it emerged Vykintas Slivka is struggling to be fit for the Premiership kick-off next month.
The former Juventus midfielder was given extra time off this summer after playing for Lithuania in their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Luxembourg and Serbia last month.
But the 24-year-old then returned to Easter Road with a hip injury and is giving manager Paul Heckingbottom cause for concern.
READ MORE: Hibs manager Heckingbottom eyes 'one or two' more signings
Hibs, who kick off their Betfred Cup campaign away to Stirling Albion on Saturday, are already light in midfield after the departures of Mark Milligan, Stephane Omeonga and Gael Bigirimana at the end of last term.
However, despite only having Scott Allan, Stevie Mallan and youngster Fraser Murray available for the central midfield berths, Heckingbottom is eager for Slivka to complete a pre-season schedule once he shakes off his injury.
He said: “Vicky has returned injured and, for me, in my mind, he’s some way off.
“We’ve got to get him fit but then he’s got to do the work the players have done, the pre-season work.
“I’m not considering him because he’s not even training with us yet and when he does train with us he’s got to do all the work.
“So, he’ll be a while.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here