Lawrence Shankland could miss Heart of Midlothian’s Europa League play-off second leg against Viktoria Plzen. 

Steven Naismith revealed the club’s top scorer from the last two seasons picked up an injury against Motherwell at the weekend. 

“From the weekend, Shanks has a wee ache in his knee, just a contact injury," the Hearts head coach said. "So we’ll see how that one is. Everyone else is fit."

He added: “We'll wait and see. It is a quick turnaround for the games. There’s not much training. We’ll give it as long as possible and we’ll see how he is tomorrow.

"He's reported it after the game. There were a few other bumps and knocks but he's the only one who missed out yesterday and today on the pitch."

If Shankland was to be fit for the game, he would make his 100th appearance in the maroon and white.

"He's been a big player for us.," Naismith said. "His record in the last two years has been impressive. He's an experienced player. If he doesn't get his 100th appearance tomorrow I'm sure he'll get it soon enough."


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The depth at the striker position has been a key talking point amongst fans ahead of the close of the transfer window on Friday night. Should Shankland not make it, however, Naismith has full confidence in his other strikers to step up and offer a goal threat.

"Definitely," he said. "This season I think Kenneth has had more shots than Lawrence in all the games but it's about taking them. Boycey has looked sharp in pre-season, he's had to be patient and we've got James Wilson who's young and eager and we want to introduce him to the first team.

"It's not just the strikers. We need to create good chances. That comes from guys like Blair Spittal, Yan Dhanda and Jorge Grant. We need to create chances, and when they come along we need to take them, especially in European football."