Liam Boyce allays fitness fears ahead of Hearts’ big date at Hampden

Liam Boyce believes he will be fine to start for Hearts in the Scottish Cup final after suffering a scare when he had to go off injured in last weekend’s cinch Premiership defeat by Rangers.

The Jambos top scorer looked dejected when he limped off with a groin problem after just 12 minutes of the final league game of the campaign and appeared to have become a doubt for the Hampden showdown with the Ibrox side this weekend.

However, speaking on Monday at the club’s pre-cup final media day, Boyce soothed any fears that he may miss out.

“It’s feeling a lot better than I thought it would when it happened,” he said. “I tried to sprint and just felt the leg tighten up and then a wee sharp pain.

“You automatically think the worst. I tried to run it off but the longer it went on I was thinking there’s no point risking it with such a big game next week. The possibility of missing the final comes into your head because it’s such a big game but shortly after I came off it eased off.

“It was a bit sore on Saturday night but since then it’s been getting better. I’m confident I can play on Saturday.”

It was a bit sore on Saturday night but since then it's been getting better. I'm confident I can play on Saturday- Liam Boyce

Boyce, who joined Hearts two-and-a-half years ago, is well aware of the opportunity as the Edinburgh side bid to land silverware for the first time since their last Scottish Cup triumph a decade ago, when they defeated city rivals Hibernian 5-1 in the final. That was their third victory in the tournament in the space of 14 years.

“It’s hard not to see what it means when you play at Hearts because the fans love it so much and they’re always bringing it up that they beat Hibs 5-1 in the final and stuff,” said Boyce.