Ghana coach to visit Hearts and run rule over fit-again Kingston

MILOVAN RAJEVAC, Ghana's national coach, will visit Edinburgh next month to assess the fitness and form of Hearts midfielder Larry Kingston before announcing his squad for the World Cup finals.

The 56-year-old Serbian is embarking on a European tour to monitor senior Ghanaian players ahead of the tournament in South Africa. His trip will encompass stops in Italy, France, Holland and England as well as Scotland.

He plans to attend Tynecastle around the middle of April to meet Kingston and watch him in action for Hearts. The Ghanaian Football Association are keen that the 29-year-old is in peak physical condition after seeing him toil with a series of injuries throughout 2009. He recently regained his place in the Hearts team and Rajevac will assess him first-hand before taking a final decision on whether he merits a World Cup place.

"Mr Rajevac will be in the UK in around two weeks. He will see all the UK players during April," said Nenad Glisic, Rejevac's interpreter.

"He will check to see how Michael Essien's recovery from injury is going. John Mensah is also injured but we know Kingston started playing again recently and we know he played 90 minutes against Rangers on Saturday. We are monitoring everything with him.

"Mr Rajevac's plan is definitely to come to Edinburgh to see him, and also the other players in England. He will travel to Italy to see Stephen Appiah, and he will also be in France and Holland over the next few weeks so he can decide on the squad for the World Cup. He will probably name the final squad in the middle of May.

"The coach keeps in touch with every player, especially the seniors. Kingston is an important player because of his knowledge and his experience. The most important thing for the coach is the form of the player. The current level of performance is taken into account.

"We have said Kingston is a big player but we will see how things develop over the next few weeks. The coach is the only one who can make the decision."

Kingston will be out of contract at Hearts by the time the World Cup begins but is eager to cement a place in South Africa after missing the 2006 finals through suspension.

Meanwhile, Hearts striker Jamie Mole has joined First Division Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season after refusing the chance to join David Witteveen at Morton.

"He has a chance to get some games under his belt and I'm sure that the move will benefit him," said Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager. "The Raith move suited him better. He knows a few of the folk there and has obviously worked with John McGlynn before."

• SUNDERLAND are reported to be monitoring Hearts left-back Lee Wallace after dispatching scout Ricky Sbragia to Tynecastle for last Saturday's visit of Rangers.