Martin Boyle Hibs return plan revealed but Lee Johnson urges caution to avoid third time unlucky

Lee Johnson admits Hibs are pulling the reins on Martin Boyle ahead of his return to action.

The Australia international has been out since late 2022 after suffering a second serious knee injury of his career. Boyle is back doing individual work and whilst he’s desperate to rejoin his teammates for pre-season training, Johnson is remaining cautious to ensure lightning doesn’t strike for a third time.

It had been hoped that Boyle would be fit for the second leg of Hibs’ Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie against either Vikingur or Club Inter D’Escaldes. But Johnson has pencilled in the start of the season for the frontman to be fully fit and ready to rock without any restrictions placed on him. A return before then hasn’t been ruled out, but the Easter Road boss won't be rushing him under any circumstances. “Listen, we’re pulling the reins on him at the moment. He’s champing at the bit to get going in full training,” he told Sky Sports.

“But with an injury like that, every week or couple of weeks reduces the percentile of a reoccurrence of the injury, So given the stage of the season, we feel we can build him up.

“It would be fantastic if we could see him fully fit, without protection for the start of the season. Potentially a couple of weeks before.”

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