Hibernian’s Chris Cadden is facing the prospect of missing most of next season amid fears that he ruptured his Achilles tendon in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with 10-man Hearts at Tynecastle.
The 26-year-old was carried off in clear distress after landing awkwardly while making a headed clearance in his own box midway through the second half.
Hibs also lost Jake Doyle-Hayes after he dislocated his shoulder in an eventful showdown in Gorgie, while manager Lee Johnson confirmed afterwards that on-loan Burnley defender CJ Egan-Riley, who suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday’s win over Celtic, will be out well into the new campaign.
The injury to Cadden is of most concern, however, with players typically out for the best part of a year when damaging their Achilles.
“Not good, they look like bad ones, so our thoughts go out to them,” said Johnson when asked for an update after the Hearts match.
“I think Jake’s dislocated his shoulder and Cadds may have ruptured his Achilles, so that’s not good, obviously.
“With CJ’s hamstring as well, it looks like he’s going to be out for three or four months, so that’s three big players.
“Two are on contract but one potentially we could have got back next year, so we will have to rethink with a short summer ahead of us.”
Despite playing for an hour with an extra man after Alex Cochrane’s dismissal, Hibs – who equalised through Kevin Nisbet after Yutaro Oda’s early opener – were unable to find the winner that would have lifted them above Hearts into fourth place in the table and guaranteed them European football next term.
The fifth-placed Hibees will still get a crack at the Europa Conference League as long as Celtic beat Inverness in next Saturday’s Scottish Cup final.
“I’m proud of the second half of the season,” said Johnson, reflecting on his first campaign at Easter Road.
“If I look at the big picture now of where we are compared to where we were, we’re in a fantastic place to progress.
“I will make changes over the summer, without a question of a doubt, there will be ins and outs. I’m not finished, we’re not finished.
“Everything is looking up, the points tally (eight out of 15) in the top six has been good.
“I felt we should have beaten Aberdeen which potentially could have been another two points.
“We’ve got the summer to build that 30 per cent within the squad that we’re after – a bit more quality, change the dynamic a little bit, freshen the group up and then we go again.”
Steven Naismith, who oversaw two wins, three draws and two defeats in his seven games in interim charge of Hearts, declared himself “ready for management”.
“This period was definitely a big indicator,” said the 36-year-old.
“I have spoken to clubs in the past but you have this feeling of ‘am I ready?’, And every manager I’ve spoken to has said that if you could coach for 10 years you will never know when you’re ready, but what this has done is give me a taste of it and I know I’m ready and I think I’ve shown that.
“These are the five hardest fixtures of the season, at a time when the squad is really low and I’m proud of what we’ve done. I’m ready for it.
“The conversations will now start to see whether I’m the man to take Hearts forward or not but I’m looking forward to those conversations.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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