HEARTS fear that their young left-back, Kevin McHattie, could be out for up to three months if a scan confirms that he suffered knee ligament damage in a tackle by Rangers striker Kenny Miller.
Miller was only booked by referee Craig Thomson - who had earlier sent-off Rangers midfielder Stevie Smith for a similar foul - in a fiery Tynecastle clash in which eight other players were shown yellow cards. McHattie, the 21-year-old Scotland under-21 internationalist, was stretchered off early in the second half after Miller came flying in on him near the touchline.
"We need to get Kevin scanned but it looks like his medial ligament," said Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson. "Fingers crossed it's not, but worst-case scenario is that it might be three weeks, it might be three months. We just need to deal with it but I feel for Kevin because he's been doing great for us, so hopefully he's not out for too long."
Miller was loudly booed off by the Hearts support when he was substituted a few minutes after the tackle but Neilson did not blame the Rangers veteran for injuring his player.
"Not really. There were strong tackles going in from both teams. But I'm delighted at the way they stood up to the physicality out there and stuck by each other," he said.
"It's always going to be that way in a game like this. It's two teams going for the Championship and it's probably the most intense atmosphere you'll get in Scotland. You're going to get challenges, from both sides, and it's up to the referee to decide how he punishes them. You pick up bookings through the season. We're a team who hunts people down and makes things happen, so yellow cards are an inevitability. Thats why we have a big squad. If you want to play high tempo, you need the bodies."
Jason Holt and Jamie Walker's second-half goals came after the hugely significant first-half moment when Smith was sent-off for a crude tackle on Callum Paterson. Rangers' Jon Daly accused Paterson and other Hearts players of exaggerating the seriousness of that challenge to pressurise the referee to take action.
"I don't think their reaction helps," he said. "But that seems to be the way football is. That seems to be coming in a lot more, players trying to get people booked and sent off.
"I think it's a man's game and when a player gets hit and he goes down screaming like he's been shot by a sniper I don't think it really helps the case. You have to cut the referee a bit of slack because, if he sees that, he thinks it's a serious injury.
"You have to ask questions of the players if they are trying to con the ref or not. It seems football is changing, and in my opinion probably not for the better."
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