Colin Calderwood confirms Graham Stack faces shoulder operation

Hibs manager Colin Calderwood has confirmed that keeper Graham Stack will this week undergo an operation on the shoulder injury which is expected to keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season.

The former Arsenal player damaged ligaments in his shoulder during the 2-1 victory over Hamilton a fortnight ago and lost his place to Mark Brown for the Easter Road side's last outing against St Johnstone. The 29-year-old, who had already missed much of the campaign with a recurring back problem, now faces the prospect of being out of action until the summer, when his contract with the capital side also expires.

Calderwood has admitted he does not expect the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 internationalist, who blamed Accies defender Mark McLaughlin for the aerial challenge which left him injured, to be back playing for "a while". "Graham is going to have an operation this week. The surgeon wanted the swelling to go down a little bit more before he operated on him," Calderwood said. Meanwhile, the manager was working yesterday to secure a closed-doors match to help fill the four-week void left by the postponement of tomorrow's meeting with Celtic, which had been brought forward because of the weekend's Co-operative Insurance Cup final.

With the Parkhead fixture now having to be put back because of Celtic's rearranged Scottish Cup match with Inverness - and with the forthcoming international break for Scotland's friendly with Brazil - the Easter Road side are now not likely to play again until the Edinburgh derby on 3 April.

Calderwood is hopeful the lay-off could have beneficial effects as he eyes the possibility of a push for the top-six on the back of a six-game unbeaten run.

However, he knows there is also the chance of his charges facing city rivals Hearts early next month 'ring-rusty' as a result of their enforced inactivity. In an interview on Hibernian TV, he added: "We've got one (bounce game) arranged and are working to see whether there's another date suitable for us.

"We've identified what we're going to do and we are going to do quite a bit of work this week. Then, come the weekend, it will be a case of a bit of recovery.

"The process has already started and I think we could have a good, and valuable, week to help us to have a strong end to the season."