Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts manager, has concerns over his striking department after Jamie Mole became the club's second forward in 24 hours to suffer an injury setback.
Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts manager, has concerns over his striking department after Jamie Mole became the club's second forward in 24 hours to suffer an injury setback.
Mole is set to undergo an X-ray amid fears he may have broken his foot after the 20-year-old limped out of training and it was deemed serious enough to warrant a visit to hospital.
Laszlo, who also saw Mike Tullberg suffer another delay in recovery from a torn thigh muscle, said he is hopeful that Mole's injury will not be as serious as first thought. "Jamie took a blow to his foot so we will see what the scans say," he told the club's official website. "We are obviously hoping there is nothing more than the bruising but he is sore so we will have to wait and see what the results of the X-rays are."
Tullberg, meanwhile, complained of recurring pain in the ruptured quad on Sunday and was forced to abort his return to training. Laszlo revealed the Dane, who is on loan from Reggina in Italy but has made just two appearances this season due to the problem, may be sent back to Denmark for further specialist treatment.
In September, the player sought help for the same injury in his homeland from Thomas Macon, the private physio of Mikkel Kessler, the Danish WBA super-middleweight champion.
"Mike Tullberg still has the same problem and we must make a decision on him," said Laszlo. "I will speak with the doctors, physios and with the sport director maybe today or tomorrow, but we must have a quick solution.
"It might be best for the player to go back to Denmark and see a specialist there, but we will make a decision on this. I hope Mike can come back into the team quickly but he must be free of injury first.
"The player wants to come back but he still has this muscle problem. He tried to train on Sunday but told me he was still getting pain from his muscle and had to stop. We want him fit so we will do what is best for Mike."
Laszlo will hope the injuries do not knock his side out of their stride after stringing four Clydesdale Bank Premier League wins in a row together since the 2-0 home defeat to Celtic at the start of the month.
But on a more positive note, Laszlo was able to confirm that Laryea Kingston, the Hearts midfielder, will be in contention for Saturday's league game against Rangers, but only if he comes through training unscathed.
The Ghana internationalist has been sidelined with a thigh injury since the Edinburgh derby last month.
Laszlo was annoyed the player was forced to travel to and from Africa to get the problem assessed by national team doctors ahead of last week's friendly against Tunisia.
"Larry is training and we will speak about the problems we had," said Laszlo. "We do not have a bad relationship and my door is always open. It is important to think of the club but also of the player and of the team spirit.
"I will look to get him back playing. If he trains all week, he can play against Rangers."
