Ready for Gorgie encounter with Killie

The boss was keen to underline that injuries to Liam Boyce and Kye Rowles were unlikely to force any rash moves in the transfer market before Thursday’s deadline, with a number of other first team players in line to return to the fold.
 
“It’s not looking good for both of those guys. Liam’s done his cruciate by the looks of it and will be out for a number of months. It’s hugely disappointing, especially with Kye’s one as well. He’s got an issue with his metatarsal and will be out for about six to eight weeks,” he told the press in his pre-match media conference.
 
“I’m definitely hopeful with Boycie. Liam did his cruciate in the opposite knee and was back in six months. The hope is that it’s a similar story with this knee, and we’ll be able to get it operated on pretty quickly.
 
“Natty Atkinson will be fine, potentially back tomorrow and definitely for the weekend. It’s the same situation with both Jorge and Stephen Kingsley. Craig Halkett’s been training away for a while, so now it’s just picking the right time to give him minutes.
 
“We’ve had a conversation about the need to be a bit more aggressive in the market. As we’ve always stressed though, it’s quality over quantity.”
 
The game are coming thick and fast for the boys in maroon, with tomorrow night seeing the Jambos lock horns with Kilmarnock for the first time in two years.
 
Derek McInnes brings the newly promoted Killie to Gorgie off the back of their first win of the season against Motherwell at Rugby Park last weekend, and the manager knows the vastly experienced McInnes will make Killie a tough nut to crack.
 
“We’ve been preparing for this game prior to St. Johnstone,” said Robbie. “If we want to push for the higher levels in the league and playing in Europe, this schedule should be looked at as a reward rather than something we don’t want to do.
 
“When you look at their fixtures since they’ve came back up, they’ve had a difficult start. They’re had to deal with both Old Firm teams which is always difficult. As ever, Derek’s got them really well organised – plenty of threats, especially with Kyle Lafferty and the other front two.
 
“They’re physically strong, and they’ll come to Tynecastle and make it a tough game but we’re ready for it.”
 
You can catch the manager’s press conference in full on Hearts TV