Derek McInnes believes the return of Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland can set Hearts on course for “a special end to the season”.
The key duo have been absent for the William Hill Premiership leaders since January with ankle and hamstring injuries respectively, but both are back in full training and set to be involved against Dundee on Saturday.
“It was a significant blow when both lads went out of the team,” McInnes said on Thursday.
“We’re obviously carrying other injuries, but with these two lads coming back in, I think the players will get a boost, I think the support will get a boost.
“Lawrence, for me, has been the best striker in the league up until he went out of the team, and Cammy was arguably the best midfielder in the league, so it’s good to have both boys back at such a crucial time in the season.”
Asked if Devlin or Shankland could start against Dundee, McInnes said: “I would need to weigh all that up. I think there’s obviously a temptation with that.
“But we also don’t want to put ourselves in a position where you put both boys at risk and then we lose them again, so we’ll weigh all this up really with the medical team this week.
“Watching them training this week has been great, it looks as if they’ve not been away. I’ll chat with the lads as well and see how we’re fixed.”
McInnes hopes Harry Milne and Beni Baningime will both recover from injury in time to feature on Saturday, while he confirmed that Tomas Magnusson suffered a broken cheekbone against Kilmarnock last Saturday.
“The specialist is quite confident that on further consultation, maybe next week, Tomas could be available after Dundee with a mask on,” said the manager.
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Hearts’ 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock brought fresh questions about their ability to handle the heat of a title race, but McInnes – whose side are two points clear of Celtic at the top – has no such concerns.
“When you look at the teams around us, of the last five games, we’ve won three, Celtic have won three, Motherwell have won three, Rangers have won two, so nobody’s really catching fire and winning their games,” said the manager.
“I think it shows you the difficulty for so many teams. Hopefully, we can be the team that catches fire between now and the end of the season.
“I’m just glad that we’re relevant, to be honest. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being mid-table now and just sitting watching this fight go on and wanting it to be us.
“We’re right in the middle of it, and we’re exactly where we want to be.
“I fully believe that we are going to have a special end to the season, and I’m totally committed to that. I see it, I think we can do it, I think we can be really strong through the line, and I want the players to play with confidence and try and make the most of the opportunity that’s there for us.”
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