Predicted Hearts XI to face St Mirren as injuries bite but Scottish Cup clash could hinge on fitness of two stars

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson must navigate a plethora of injuries when he picks his team to face St Mirren.

Only 14 players reported for training on Thursday ahead of Scottish Cup quarter-final weekend after a bizarre match at Dundee United last time out in which five players were substituted through injury.

Another five cropped up with problems during the week but Neilson expects around half to be back for the Cup clash.

Neilson said: "At this moment in time we have 11 players carrying knocks. It won't be 11 that will be out on Saturday. I would expect to probably have six of them back.

"I know about 90 per cent of who will start the game, there are one or two who are a bit borderline.

"There will be ones that will be a day, there will be some that are two days, there will be some that are two weeks, there are some that will be three to four weeks, but we have a squad that can handle it."

John Souttar's injury had fans fearing the worst but Neilson revealed it was an ankle problem and not another achilles issue of the kind that has dogged his career.

Cammy Devlin, Nathaniel Atkinson, Gary Mackay-Steven and Alex Cochrane were also replaced.

Josh Ginnelly and Peter Haring were also affected while Craig Halkett and Beni Baningime were seen in training – if they are fit to start it would be a huge boost.

The injuries could tempt Neilson to return to a back three but the recent change to a 4-2-3-1 has yielded positive results in recent weeks.

If Devlin and Haring are both missing Andy Halliday or potentially Aaron McEneff can slot into midfield alongside Baningime.

With Ginnelly a doubt, Ben Woodburn could get another shot out wide while Barrie McKay takes his place on the right, with Liam Boyce dropping deeper