Why Hearts left Calem Nieuwenhof out of European squad as Steven Naismith gives fitness update

Hearts manager Steven Naismith has given an injury update on midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof after he was left out of their Uefa Conference League squad.

The Australian midfielder hasn’t made an appearance since for the club since March after suffering a hamstring injury but is edging closer to a return now after his lengthy layoff. He had initially been making good progress towards a return but faced another setback in the close season, pushing back his playing return.

After Hearts failed to advance to the Europa League they will now play in the Conference League and submitted their confirmed squad for the newly revamped league stage earlier in the week, with Nieuwenhof absent from the list alongside summer signing Musa Drammeh who has yet to feature for the club. The Tynecastle boss has given an update on the Aussie U23 international while also hinting towards an important domestic role for the player upon his return.

“It's the level of player we've got in the squad, plus where he is at. He is back on the pitch but working individually. He is not with the group,” Naismith said speaking to Edinburgh Evening News.

“With his injury being a much longer injury due to the setback, when he comes back into training he's going to have a few weeks of pre-season-type training to make sure he's robust enough. Then, on top of that, you are talking about him getting enough minutes in games.

"By the time you are getting to the end of the league phase in Europe, there's no real chance. You couldn't say: 'He might miss the first two games, but he's going to be there for the next four.'

"That's where the decision came from. What it will do is keep his importance for the league games on the Sunday. He will come into contention for them