Steven Naismith has been ruled out of the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic on May 25.
The on-loan Norwich forward hasn’t played since being replaced at half-time against Celtic on February 27 due to a recurring knee injury.
Craig Levein had hoped to have Naismith back in his side for the Scottish Cup Final but it appears that time is running out for the Scotland striker.
The Sun reports:
He underwent a second knee op in five months at the start of March, and has been sidelined since the February 27 clash with the Hoops.
Jambos boss Craig Levein had kept the door open to Naisy making a dramatic return at Hampden, after the injury turned out to be not as bad as first feared.
But SunSport understands that now won’t happen, with Naismith, 32, not fit enough to make Hampden.
That will be a massive setback for Levein, who is still hoping to convince on-loan star Naismith to pen a permanent deal after Norwich contract expires at the end of the season.
Hearts are also sweating over the fitness of Uche Ikpeazu who appeared to suffer a hamstring strain during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat from Kilmarnock.
If both strikers are ruled out of the cup final Levein will almost certainly be forced to turn to Steven MacLean who has scored three SPFL goals from 16 starts and eight substitute appearances.
Celtic will be without Ryan Christie and Dedryck Boyata for the Hampden show-piece but there is an outside chance that Leigh Griffiths could be involved.
Hearts also face Celtic in the final SPFL match of the season, six days before the clubs clash at Hampden.
