New injury fears for Ibrox bound crock Souttar
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Heart of Midlothian - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 2, 2021 Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi looks at his stomach after clashing with Heart of Midlothian's John Souttar Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
John Souttar is already an injury doubt for the April 17 Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibs.
The Ibrox bound defender suffered an ankle injury against Dundee United on March 5 and hasn’t kicked a ball since.
Fortunately the latest ankle injury is in no way whatsoever connected to the achilles tendon that has three times forced the defender into lengthy absences. Absolutely not.
Last season Souttar only managed to play four matches- all between April 9 and 30- but after stringing together a couple of games and a goal for Scotland the Tribute Act waded in with a pre-contract deal then refused to pay the £300,000 that Hearts were looking for to push the move through in January.
Looking at the injury situation at Tynecastle, the Edinburgh News reports:
The Edinburgh club face a Premiership trip to Ross County this Saturday before back-to-back derbies against Hibs in the league and Scottish Cup semi-final.
With a cruciate ligament injury sidelining fellow midfielder Beni Baningime until next season, Devlin’s return from a strained hamstring is eagerly anticipated. Likewise defender’s Souttar’s recovery from an ankle injury.
Both the Australian and the Scot are expected to miss the Ross County match and the first meeting with Hibs. At the moment, they are considered touch-and-go for the all-Edinburgh semi-final at Hampden Park on April 16.
Souttar should be wary of his next employers record on pulling out of contracts.
CLICK HERE for Souttar’s injury record.