Celtic’s trip to Tynecastle next weekend is shaping up to be a massive fixture in the title race and Hearts’ injury crisis is worsening at the worst possible time.
The Jambos were already preparing for Sunday’s showdown without midfield duo Beni Baningime (suspension) and Cammy Devlin (ankle injury), and now it appears top scorer and captain Lawrence Shankland could also miss the clash.
Shankland was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury during Hearts’ Scottish Cup defeat to Falkirk on Saturday evening.
The Scotland striker had levelled the game at 1-1 before extra time and a perfect penalty shootout saw the Bairns knock the Premiership leaders out of the cup.
Speaking after the match, Hearts manager Derek McInnes admitted the outlook for his talisman does not look promising.
“Not great, I don’t think. I don’t know exactly what he’s done,” McInnes said.
“When it comes to penalties, you want to keep him on for obvious reasons.
“He doesn’t look good for next week anyway.
“It just didn’t look good, the fact he had to come off.” [SunSport]
Shankland’s potential absence is a massive blow for Hearts, with the forward contributing a vital share of their goals this season and leading from the front in their impressive campaign.
With Celtic closing the gap under Martin O’Neill in his last spell, and set to face Hearts live on Sky Sports at 3pm on Sunday, the loss of such key figures from Derek McIness’ midfield and attack could tilt the momentum in the Hoops’ favour.
Celtic, meanwhile, will be eyeing the fixture as a pivotal opportunity to reignite their title charge, but they have two matches to play before they can even think about the trip.
