Heart of Midlothian will assess the fitness of defender Frankie Kent ahead of this weekend’s trip to Paisley.

Kent is the only other potential absentee in Steven Naimsith’s squad, with midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof still sidelined, as Hearts search for their first win of the season this Saturday away to St Mirren.

The 28-year-old centre-back picked up an ankle knock and may miss out for the second week in a row after dropping to the bench with an illness for Celtic Park.

Another player who will be unavailable is 20-year-old Finlay Pollock who has joined Raith Rovers on loan.

Naismith admitted he was reluctant to let the young attacker make the move but decided that Stark’s Park was a better place to build up his minutes, at least until January.

“If I'm honest, it was a really tough decision for me personally,” said the Hearts manager. “I think he's on the cusp of being somebody that should be part of our squad.

“It was probably the amount of time out that he's had that's been the key thing to say let's go to January to play games. He's missed a lot of football. His mentality is strong. His athleticism and that side of it is really good and he's got good ability.”

Some would argue that the issues in the Hearts attack mean that Pollock should be given more chances in the first team now. The fact the player signed a new deal ahead of his loan move means he still has more than enough time to make an impression at Tynecastle Park.

Then there are the merits of ‘throwing’ youngsters into a side struggling for form.

Read more

“We just can't give him the assurance that he's going to play enough minutes from now to January,” added Naismith. “So I think it suits us, it suits Raith Rovers.

“Us giving him a new contract shows the faith we've got in him. It's definitely one of the ones that we'll look at in January to potentially bring back.

“He's been in a few squads. He's been close. But I think for his development and what we could get back, he may get an opportunity here, he may then have to wait a wee bit longer to get another opportunity if it didn't go too well.

“And for a young player, that's tough to deal with, all that. So I've taken a calculated risk that I think it's better that he plays minutes.

“And then January, he comes back with that in mind, that he'll be part of the squad most weeks, with a view to getting his minutes right up to playing and producing for us.”