Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken has confirmed that winger Calvin Miller has been ruled out for at least two months after sustaining a meniscus injury in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat to Hibernian at Barclays Hampden.
The 28-year-old provided the assist for Cláudio Braga’s opening goal in the fourth minute before being replaced in the 37th minute after a collision with Martin Boyle.
Miller has been a standout player for Vrancken and Hearts since joining from fellow Scottish Premiership side Falkirk in the summer, contributing to 10 goals in all competitions.
He will now miss a total of 13 matches before the new year, including games against Monaco, Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers and an Edinburgh Derby against Hibernian at the end of December.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League tie against Swiss side Thun, Vrancken said that Miller will require surgery, which will determine an exact timescale.
“It will be two months, let’s say, depending on what the surgery says because it’s a meniscus injury. It’s a pity, but it is what it is.
“With this, he will always need surgery. But depending on what they have to do, it will be maybe a difference of a few weeks.”
Icelandic midfielder Tómas Magnússon also won’t be available for selection until after the international break after suffering a concussion injury in the first half at Hampden.
Miller and Magnússon’s injuries have further deepened an injury crisis which means Hearts are now without 10 first-team players, with Harry Milne, Christian Borchgrevink, Oisin McEntee, Eduardo Ageu, Craig Halkett, Blair Spittal, Tom Renaud and Rogers Mato all unavailable.
Vrancken would normally have a 23-man UEFA Conference League squad at his disposal but is now missing six of those players, leaving the Belgian with just 16 outfield players for Thursday’s clash with Thun.
Hearts will be aiming to claim their first win of the league phase following a 1-1 draw with Danish side Nordsjaelland at Tynecastle and a 2-0 away defeat to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor in their opening two matches of the competition.
