Exclusive: Hearts address right-back issue as defender comes in – Kenneth Vargas returns to Edinburgh.
Adam Forrester will get a chance as Premier Sports Cup groups come to an end. Following the injury of Norwegian Christian Borchgrevink, Adam Forrester is expected to step in to help Hearts’ right-back situation.
The 20-year-old youth academy graduate has watched all three Premier Sports Cup matches from the stands, but is expected to play in at least one of Edinburgh’s next two games. Hearts face Dumbarton on Wednesday in their final Group E match, and they will be confident of defeating their League Two opponents.
A win should also secure a seeding spot in the Premier Sports Cup last-16 draw. Borchgrevink, on the other hand, is expected to miss the match at Tynecastle Park while recovering from a hamstring complaint.
He was substituted at halftime in Hearts’ 4-0 victory over Stirling Albion at Forthbank on Saturday, with medical staff advising him not to risk the tight muscle. In the second half, Irishman Oisin McEntee moved from midfield to right-back, while Australian Calem Nieuwenhof came off the bench to play in midfield.
After making 34 senior appearances last season, Forrester will now get his chance to play in one or both of Hearts’ next two games. The Dumbarton game is followed by Craig Gordon’s testimonial match against Sunderland in Gorgie on Saturday.
Derek McInnes, Tynecastle’s head coach, explained the situation to the Edinburgh News, stating that players like Forrester are being left out because he is currently managing a first-team squad of over 30 players.
Borchgrevink felt his hamstring tighten. “It wasn’t even up for debate, so we just got him off quickly,” McInnes explained. “Let’s see how he is this week. We’ll take a quick look at him, but thankfully we have other options. We can obviously go to a back three, and we have Adam Forrester.
I intend to play Adam in at least one of the next two games. “We just felt Borchgrevink needed to play at the end of the day [vs. Stirling]. We just wanted him to feel a part of it and increase his minutes.
We didn’t put Adam on the bench because we expected Stephen Kingsley to get minutes. We kind of hoped to get Stephen on during the game. Even picking a bench is difficult at the minute.
“We have Adam ready to come in for right-back. I believe Michael Steinwender could play there. Oisin can also fill in there. Part of the reason you’re looking at Oisin at full-back is to prepare for what might happen. Borchevink, based on what I’ve heard, will miss the game on Wednesday, but he may be able to play in Craig’s testimonial game on Saturday.
Hearts transfers latest – Costa Rica winger back in Scotland after Gold Cup
Costa Rican winger Kenneth Vargas was also in the stand at Forthbank after returning to Edinburgh from international duty at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. His fitness is being assessed by coaching staff as McInnes juggles his attacking options ahead of the new SPFL Premiership campaign. Steinwender and Musa Drammeh watched Saturday’s game alongside Forrester, midfielder Aidan Denholm and the injured Beni Baningime.
Denholm is expected to leave Hearts either on loan or in a permanent move before the transfer window closes. Livingston are pushing hard to take him to West Lothian, while Motherwell and Ross County have also shown an interest.
Meanwhile, Hearts are hoping paperwork for incoming forwards Sabah Kerjota and Pierre Landry Kabore will be finalised in the next few days. Both players are in Edinburgh and have been attending recent Premier Sports Cup games as they await final visa documents to complete their transfers from Italy and Estonia respectively.
Read more on sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply