Match

Hearts receive three injury boosts as Derek McInnes speaks ahead of Celtic

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Hearts have been strengthened ahead of facing Celtic at Tynecastle on Sunday.

The Hoops travel to the capital this weekend trailing the Scottish Premiership leaders by five points after a 2-0 defeat to Dundee.

Celtic are the four-time defending champions and another defeat to the Jambos could make defending their crown that bit more difficult.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
1 Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian8 7 1 0 19 6 13 22
2 CelticCeltic8 5 2 1 11 5 6 17

The gap would then open up to eight points, but there is a huge opportunity to win and get back to within two points.

Ahead of the game, the Edinburgh Evening News have provided updates on three Hearts players.

Craig Halkett of Heart of Midlothian during the Premier League match between Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk at Tynecastle Park
Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images

Craig Halkett, Ageu and Christian Borchgrevink fit for Celtic clash

McInnes revealed that after Hearts’ win over Kilmarnock, his team did not pick up any further injury concerns.

Craig Halkett’s back stiffened up against Killie, which is why he was taken off in the second-half as a precaution. However, he is available to play the Hoops.

Meanwhile, Brazilian midfielder Ageu could return from a hamstring injury, while right-back Christian Borchgrevink will make the matchday squad.

McInnes said: “No issues at all with Halkett. His back stiffened up a wee bit but we have an extra day at the end of the week and he’s fine. He was training today and everybody else from the weekend is okay.

“Ageu will do a bit of training with us this week, so he starts getting integrated with us from today. Frankie (Kent) will join in more next week, although he is coming on fine. That only leaves Finlay Pollock and Ryan Fulton who are with the physios.

“We were all excited by the signing (of Ageu), even more so when he had a positive impact on his debut. However, there’s got to be an understanding that he has had a significant enough injury.

“We need to be patient and understanding of that. It’s just trying to slowly build up his training minutes and get him a bit more robust before we can put more demands on him. The plan is to integrate him this week. Hopefully, he’ll be part of the squad at the weekend.

“We put some extra work into him (Borchgrevink) on Saturday morning rather than put him back into the squad for Kilmarnock. He wasn’t going to be on the bench so he’s just building up his work. He is fit and available and training, it’s just building him up.”