'Doesn't look great': Robbie Neilson gives Craig Gordon update after Hearts goalkeeper suffers serious leg injury

Hearts goalkeeper and captain Craig Gordon is stretchered off after coming together with Dundee United's Steven Fletcher.

The Scotland internationalist was involved in a sickening collision with Dundee United striker Steven Fletcher on 71 minutes and was taken off on a stretcher with his right leg in a brace and receiving oxygen. Referee Colin Steven originally awarded a penalty for the incident but quickly changed his verdict after consulting the VAR monitor. Hearts manager Robbie Neilson confirmed that Gordon has been admitted to hospital and a full diagnosis will be made in the next 24-48 hours.

"Craig’s probably the one we are really worried about,” said Neilson, who also lost defenders Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley to injury. “It doesn’t look great but I’m not going to speculate on it. My thoughts are with him at the moment.

"Halkett is walking about, which is pleasing. We thought it was quite a bad one but it seems to have settled down. We’ll need to get a scan and have a look at it. I think he just jarred his knee. Kingsley got a knock, it looks like concussion, so we will need to do the protocols and see where he is.”

Dylan Levitt put Dundee United 2-1 up against Hearts at Tannadice.

On the match itself, Neilson was left perplexed by the performance of referee Steven, who overturned two penalties – the Gordon incident and an earlier handball award against Dundee United midfielder Arnaud Djoum – and then allowed what looked like a soft foul to stand in stoppage time that gave Hearts the chance to equalise.

"Some of the decision-making that went on out there, it wasn't pretty, to say the least,” continued Neilson. “Wow.” Asked for his take on the penalties, Neilson replied: “Shambolic. I’ve seen Cammy’s and I think he cuts him and it’s a penalty. He’s chopped him, his hand’s down and he makes his body bigger. The one they gave for Craig is astounding. I don’t know what he’s thinking about. It’s baffling. And I don’t think ours was a penalty at the end, to be honest with you. I think that was the wrong decision."

Dundee United manager Liam Fox also agreed that the Hearts penalty was dubious. “I thought the final one was a bit soft, to be honest,” he said. “I am surprised they didn’t have another look at it. But that is just the way it is at the moment. I haven’t seen the other two back so I would have to go purely off memory. I thought the first one with Arnaud wasn't a penalty. The one with Craig Gordon, I was too far away to get a proper view of it so I would have to go back and have another look at it.”

The match itself was dramatic and enthralling. Hearts had to make a change just six minutes in when Halkett was forced off after a collision with Gordon under pressure from Glenn Middleton. With three left-footed centre-halves in their backline, the Jambos looked lopsided and uncomfortable and conceded on 20 minutes when Fletcher outmuscled Rowles from a Aziz Behich long ball and drilled the ball home from 20 yard with the aid of a slight deflection.

Lawrence Shankland scored his 15th goal of the season with this penalty to equalise for Hearts.

Kingsley was the next Hearts player to go off injured on 39 minutes after a clash of heads with Djoum to further disrupt Hearts’ defence, although they levelled two minutes later when Cammy Devlin slipped in Michael Smith and the right full-back slid the ball into the bottom corner. There was further drama deep into stoppage time when referee Colin Steven pointed to the spot after Djoum was adjudged to have handled in the penalty box, only to reverse the decision after consulting the VAR monitor, with the Cameroonian’s arm deemed to be in natural position.

United started the second half strongly and Dylan Levitt swept home on 47 minutes after good work from Glenn Middleton and they were then awarded a penalty on 71 minutes when Gordon and Fletcher collided. On first viewing, it did not look a spot-kick with both players lying crumpled on the turf. The referee was once again summoned to the monitor and the rescinded the award, with Gordon stretchered off in a leg brace and Fletcher also leaving the field of play.

The game became ragged but Hearts never gave up and Steven pointed to the spot yet again on 94 minutes, with Ross Graham pulling back Lawrence Shankland after a cross into the box. The award again looked soft but this time there was no VAR check and Shankland sent Mark Birighitti the wrong way to rescue a point for the Jambos with his 15th goal of the season.

Hearts are now joint-third in the league, moving level on points with Aberdeen, while Dundee United remain bottom but are now two points away from safety. They can leapfrog 11th-placed Ross County if they beat the Staggies at home on Wednesday night, while Hearts are in Perth against fifth-placed St Johnstone at the same time.