Hibs' worst fears over Mykola Kukharevych allayed but striker still facing spell on sidelines

Hibs striker Mykola Kukharevych will be sidelined for a number of weeks by a knee injury.

The Ukrainian, who is on loan from French side Troyes and has scored three times in 10 appearances, had been sidelined since November after he picked up a niggling medial ligament injury in the 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock. Hibs boss Lee Johnson had initially hoped to have the 21-year-old back after the World Cup break but, instead, he joined the away fans as his team-mates took on Rangers at Ibrox and later took to Instagram to post that he would ‘come back soon’.

Progress has been slow, though, and the player met with a specialist on Thursday. The forward and the Easter Road bosses had been warned to brace themselves for the possibility of a three or four month lay-off, effectively ending the loanee’s spell in the capital, but there was good news when a scan dissipated the worst of the fears and revealed that he could be back within four-to-eight weeks.

The injury had been an untimely one, with Hibs struggling in the final third but with Ellie Youan hitting his best form since joining the Leith side and the welcome return of goal scorer Kevin Nisbet, who has netted five times in his first five games, and playmaker Aiden McGeady, Johnson has other options in attack. But Kukharevych’s absence has been problematic for the side who got back to winning ways against Motherwell last weekend and face Dundee United on Saturday, with Johnson denied the opportunity to ease those players back in after their own lengthy absences.