'It's not good' - Hearts star ruled out for months as Wouter Vrancken calls for more goals
Injury blow confirmed after Premiership victory over St Johnstone
Hearts confirmed that midfielder Tom Renaud faces months out injured after Saturday’s Premiership win over St Johnstone.
TheTynecastle side clinched a 2-1 victory thanks to a James Wilson strike and an Enes Alic own goal before half-time. The visitors from Perth improved in the second half and got one back after the restart through Ruari Paton before piling pressure on the Jambos final third.
Hearts held on to cap a brilliant week for the club following the midweek penalty shoot-out triumph over Rapid Vienna away from home which sealed a place in the Conference League.
One negative to come out of the trip to Austria was Renaud’s ankle injury in the first half that required a stretcher to take him off the pitch. A scan has now been conducted and head coach Wouter Vrancken faces a decision over whether or not to include the summer signing from FC Versailles in his European squad that must be named by Wednesday night.
Hearts must also weigh up whether to turn to the transfer market for a replacement before Thursday’s deadline.
“It's not good, " Vrancken confirmed. "It will not be weeks, it will be months, but I can't give the explanation. I think it's best for the doctor or somebody from the medical staff to give a clear explanation on this because I'm not an expert. Otherwise I'm going to say things that are maybe not correct. It's a pity that we will lose him for a few months. We have to discuss it on Monday or Tuesday, seeing what the physios, doctors, what they predict, or try to predict for his injury. Then we'll see because the list has to be in on Wednesday.”
A commanding first half display pleased Vrancken but he wanted more goals as Saints were allowed a route back into the game. A lack of quality in spells was spotted by the Belgian head coach in his side’s play, however, he was pleased with how they battled after their midweek efforts.
“Good first half, decent first half, let's say, where we have to score more goals," added Vrancken. "Then after their goal, a little bit too much panic, and the quality was gone with a lot of moments. Then we're just fighting to get the result.
“I have to say I'm still proud of the players, what they did, because we played 120 minutes and only two days of rest. It's not possible to fully recuperate or recover, and a lot of people forget this, how hard it is. We didn't give too much away, I think, in total. We had to score three goals for sure, and when you score in such a game that third one, then the game is finished.”
Saints boss Simo Valakari meanwhile lamented his side giving themselves an uphill battle by conceding twice in the first half. How his side, who won the Championship last season, performed against a team who came second last term has provided encouragement.
"Football is always 90 minutes," said Valakari. "We concede two goals in the first half and it is a mountain to climb. We are disappointed at the result but not with the application, or desire, or in the football, and how we played. If we create that many chances in that environment then you need to take them. There is no other way to put it."
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.