Hearts manager Robbie Neilson is expecting key midfielder Cammy Devlin to be fit for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibernian.
The Australian has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury that forced him off in the first half of the 2-2 draw at Dundee United last month.
Devlin will remain sidelined for this weekend’s cinch Premiership match against Hibs at Tynecastle but Neilson is relishing the prospect of welcoming the combative midfielder back for the Hampden rematch between the two Edinburgh sides on Saturday week.
“Cammy won’t feature this week but he’ll be available for next week so it will be great to get him back,” said Neilson, who will have Nathaniel Atkinson and Gary Mackay-Steven back for this weekend’s derby.
Hearts are coasting towards third place, while Hibs will probably need a win at Tynecastle to get into the top six but Neilson dismissed any suggestion that the pressure is off for his side this weekend.
“In any derby, both teams go into it with pressure and expectation,” he said. “We’re at home, we’ll be expected to win. Even when we go to Easter Road, we’re expected to win. But Hibs are in exactly the same position. It doesn’t matter what’s going on prior to it, it’s about that 90 minutes.
“We’ve got to win. We go into the game with confidence, we’ve been doing well recently, but we’ve got to go out there and perform because it’s a derby.
“It’ll be a totally different game next week, it’s a different park, a different atmosphere, it’s a semi-final. This derby on Saturday is the most important thing right now. Once that’s out the way, it’s on to the next one.”
Neilson’s team are on course to ensure group-stage football in Europe next season – either in the Conference League or Europa League – and the manager admits he will have to bolster his squad accordingly. He confirmed he has offered midfielder Peter Haring a new deal.
“We’re not going to bump it up massively,” he said. “We’re probably looking at maybe three or four additions to the squad. We’ve got a good core group here. I don’t want to be running with 26 players. We’re probably looking at the low 20s at most.
“The main priority for us was to re-sign the guys we want to keep. We’ve offered contracts to some and others have already re-signed. Then it’s a case of speaking to people and seeing what the market’s like out there. There are things bubbling away in the background and I’d like a couple of the loan players to stay on and we’ve already had those conversations.
“We’ve offered Peter a deal. It’s with the agent just now. I’m really happy with Peter and I think he’s happy here. It will come down to him.”
