Hibs head coach David Gray has confirmed Adam Mayor is available for tomorrow’s Edinburgh derby after returning to full training.
But Owen Elding and Nicky Cadden will miss out.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference Gray said: “Adam trained today. He was on the grass yesterday with no effects, which is great.
“So he’s available in terms of the squad, which is a positive. Owen Elding, unfortunately, isn’t going to make it.
“We’re hoping that we could have pushed him along a little bit this week, but it’s taken a little bit longer than we’d hoped.
“I’m not saying it’s weeks away now. It’s probably just, unfortunately, these games are coming a little bit too quickly at this moment in time.
“We certainly can’t be taking any risks this early in the season when he’s still getting pain in his calf, so it’s certainly not something we’re going to do.
“Nicky Cadden is going in the right direction as well, but he’s another one who hasn’t trained enough at this point.
“He was on the grass again today, so this one will come too soon. He has potential to be involved if he still progresses for the weekend, but clearly my full focus is on tomorrow night.”
Gray also discussed a whole range of topics, including transfer business, what to expect from Hearts and using the home crowd to our advantage…
He said the club was prepared to react quickly following Warren O’Hora’s departure to Leicester City, with Marko Ivezić arriving to strengthen the defensive options.
“It was a brilliant opportunity for Warren, which came up for him. In terms of what he’s done and how he’s been at the Football Club – he’s been outstanding.
“The opportunity that came up, he obviously wanted to go and do that and understandably so.
“But we reacted really quickly, and I’m really pleased with what we’ve done. That’s probably the benefit of being ready from a recruitment point of view.”
On new arrival Ivezić Gray added: “He’s a player that’s played at a really high level. He’s obviously played in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.
“He’s very versatile, which is another thing that really appeals to us with the way we play. He’ll complement what we’ve already got in the building.
“He’s athletic, quick and comfortable on the ball. He’s played at centre-back, and he’s played at full-back a couple of times as well.
“He’s certainly got a lot of the attributes that we look for in defenders, and he’ll add to the options in that back line.”
Having taken six points from their last two Premiership matches, including an impressive victory over last weekend, Gray said his side must take confidence and belief from recent performances.
“We need to maintain our standards,” he continued.
“It’s something we spoke about going into the Dundee game, that the standards we set ourselves have been really high. That’s the level we’re setting now.
“We want to try and be as consistent as we can with that.
“If we can do that, we know we’re a very good side, as we demonstrated at the weekend.
“This week, you’ve got the added incentive of it being a Derby. I think we are going into it in a really good place, and we have to take all the confidence from that.
“Obviously, they have a new manager coming in, and that has brought a freshness and a slightly different way of playing,
“They are a bit more expansive, a bit more attack-minded on that front, but have a lot of the players that played last season, so we are aware of that. There are a few additions that we’ve obviously looked at as well.
“They’re in a very similar position to us in terms of playing a lot of football already this season. There is a lot of information we can get and a lot of games we can watch.
“They’re in a similar position in terms of physicality, so they’ll be match fit and ready to go, as are we.
“It’s got all the makings of a really good derby. But, as I’ve just said, it’s about us. It’s about making sure we approach the game the right way and use the home advantage to our advantage.
