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.”
Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback
Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.
They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.
However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.
Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.
Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.
Data Debrief: Celtic flying high
Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.
Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Malen late show extends Champions League home record
Donyell Malen netted an 85th minute winner to hand Borussia Dortmund a narrow 1-0 victory over winless Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A dominant showing from Nuri Sahin's side made it three wins from four games so far in the competition, moving them up to fourth in the new 36-team league.
Dortmund started brightly at the Westfalenstadion but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Marcel Sabitzer, Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy going close.
They recorded 13 shots in the first half, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League match without scoring since Opta recorded this data (since 2003-04).
But Sturm Graz offered a threat on the break after the interval, with Jusuf Gazibegovic curling an effort narrowly wide before Mika Biereth missed a header from close range.
However, Dortmund left it late to seal the win as Malen pounced on Emanuel Aiwu's loose pass before being sent through by Guirassy, with the Dutchman rattling the ball beyond
Kjell Scherpen to seal another Champions League home win.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
While Sahin has come under fire for Dortmund's displays away from home, there is no arguing with his record at the Westfalenstadion.
He became the first Dortmund coach since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions), while BVB are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive Champions League home games (W9 D4) - an extended club record.
Malen’s winner was timed at 84:56, Dortmund’s latest winning goal in a Champions League match since Kevin Groskreutz netted against Marseille in December 2013.
Lille 1-1 Juventus: French side's resistance broken after second-half penalty
Lille held firm to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw at home on Tuesday in the Champions League, extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Jonathan David had fired the French club ahead in the first half, before Dusan Vlahovic scored a second-half penalty to level things up and leave both sides on seven points after four matches.
Things didn't start well for the home side, with Teun Koopmeiners thinking he had scored the opener for Juventus only for it to be disallowed for offside.
David put Lille ahead just three minutes later with their first chance of note in the match. The Canadian turned home to convert from a slick counter-attacking move.
Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier had to be on form to keep the home side ahead before half-time, sensationally saving a Vlahovic half-volley 10 minutes before the break. Koopmeiners, meanwhile, had another effort chalked off in the 42nd minute.
Juventus upped the pressure in the second half, with Chevalier also upping things and pulling off two impressive saves in quick succession.
But ultimately, the Lille resistance was broken by a Vlahovic penalty on the hour after Francisco Conceicao had been fouled by Benjamin Andre.
The result leaves Juventus 10th and Lille 12th in the Champions League table.
Data debrief: Lille looking good for qualification
After drawing 1-1, Lille are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions and three matches in the Champions League.
The French side had beaten Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in back-to-back European games.
They now have a seven-point buffer between themselves and the bottom eight in the league table.
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