Hearts have been handed an injury blow ahead of their trip to Parkhead to face Celtic on Sunday, with Eduardo Ageu now confirmed as an absentee.
Sunday will see Hearts make their first trip to Celtic Park since the final day of last season, when they saw their Premiership dream fall by the wayside, with Celtic winning on the day and, as a consequence, winning the title.
There will be some old wounds to face for Hearts, but there has, of course, been a fair amount of change, including the manager and a couple of high-profile players.
Hearts have had a steady start to the season, currently in third place and five points behind Celtic. It's too early to say for sure whether the Edinburgh side can hold title ambitions, but early indications are that they will be a second or third-place team, which would be no slouch given the change of manager and the loss of top scorer Lawrence Shankland over the summer.
Ahead of their trip to Celtic this weekend, Hearts have lost 2025 signing Ageu, who picked up an issue over the weekend. Hearts blasted St Mirren 5-0 over the weekend, and Ageu picked up an injury that will now see him miss both the Europa Conference League clash with Nordsjælland and the Premiership clash with Celtic.
“It’s not the same injury as before, but of course, it’s a pity for him, for the team and for us,” Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken has confirmed.
Ageu has only made two Premiership appearances so far this season due to an injury in pre-season that kept him out, and that was a muscle injury. He now looks set for a fresh spell on the sidelines.
Vrancken added: “It’s a pity for him and for the team and for us in general, because he showed his qualities on Saturday.
“Also after the game he felt good. Two days after we talked and he was explaining how good he felt and how eager he was to play the games in Europe. It’s a blow for him, but again you have to cope with it.
“But when you’ve been injured for such a long time, then it’s always step by step coming back and we have to accept and cope with those little things, so let’s hope that he’s fit and well really soon.
“He will be out longer than this weekend, we’ll see week by week. With muscles, it’s always difficult to say. We will for sure be protective and not push him too hard. He has to do his rehab again and work for what’s coming and stay in a positive mindset. It’s the only way you get back the fastest.”
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