Jair Tavares will welcome his friend Duk to Easter Road this weekend, fully aware that he may not be in a position to do so if it wasn’t for the Aberdeen forward’s support over the past year.

Having signed for Hibs from Benfica ahead of last season, the Lisbon-born winger failed to impress and saw his match time restricted to such an extent that he managed only nine competitive appearances under former gaffer Lee Johnson. He slipped so far out of first team contention that he was exiled to the development squad.

Johnson’s departure helped turn the Portuguese player’s fortunes around, with Tavares the surprise inclusion in new boss Nick Montgomery’s first squad against Kilmarnock and, in the period since, the 23-year-old has already eclipsed last term’s appearance tally, moving into double figures in last weekend’s victory over Dundee. A goal from Tavares opened the scoring at Dens Park and proved crucial in preventing the home side bagging a share of the points.

Aberdeen's Luis 'Duk' Lopes and Hibs' Jair Tavares chat before last month's Viaplay Cup semi-final.

It means that Duk and his Aberdeen team-mates will come up against a far more buoyant player and a team that is blossoming as new tactics are implemented and confidence grows. For 90 minutes both men will want to come out on top but, away from the on-field combat, Tavares revealed that his fellow Benfica academy graduate has spent their time in Scottish football lifting him up when life left him down.

“We played five or six years together at Benfica. We were friendly away from the pitch as well. He is a very good guy. I like him a lot,” Tavares said of the man who has also held open the door at international level, with Cape Verde offering both men an alternative to Portugal. “He was there for me and we were always talking. He was telling me not to give up and to keep working and he said that my opportunity would come. He knows me and he knows how mind works. It is good to have someone you can speak to in your language, that is very comfortable.”

Given the awkwardness he felt at Hibs’ East Mains training ground at that time, that was welcome. “I lost the passion for football and that is the worst feeling ever,” said Tavares. “Coming in for training, I was thinking; ‘why?’ Sometimes I wanted to stay home. The most difficult thing was to smile. Josh Campbell was always telling me: ‘Just smile and pretend that everything is OK.’ It wasn’t OK but I kept working hard and now my opportunity is here.

“It is very hard when you are mentally down to show up and see everyone happy. You’re the one who is very sad every day. It is not just that you are feeling down today but tomorrow you will be fine, I knew that tomorrow I wouldn’t be fine also. That was the most difficult thing. The lads were there for me. Joe Newell, Lewis Stevenson, they helped me a lot and I have to thank them. Early in the season I was training with the development squad and the first two weeks I was thinking ‘why am I even trying’ but I have family and friends that I left behind so I couldn’t quit.

Tavares trains ahead of Sunday's match against the Dons.

“My friends believe in me a lot so I didn't want to disappoint anyone. I know what I am capable of so I knew I could play better, so that is why I couldn't give up. I’m 23-years-old, and I have my whole career in front of me. I could not give up just because of one season. That’s not me.”

The arrival of Montgomery offered him an immediate reprieve. Impressed by what he witnessed in training, he reinstated the outcast to the starting line up. “He was a player lacking confidence, but I don’t think he ever lacked belief in himself,” said the Easter Road boss. “But he tried too hard at the start, and if you remember the first game I took him off at half-time because he tried so hard, he went the other way. He forgot to do the simple things but that was him trying to show everyone in 45 minutes that he’s still around.

“I told him not to put so much pressure on himself, to relax and enjoy himself, be a team player, not an individual. That’s probably hard when you have been out of the team picture for so long but he adapted really well. He listens to instructions, and he’s a real team player. His performances over the last 4-5 weeks have shown everyone we have got a real talented player in the building who probably was forgotten about. But there’s a lot of improvement there and that’s the real positive about the situation.”

Now Tavares just has to decide whether to pursue an international career with Cape Verde or wait to see if his form improves to such an extent that Portugal come calling. “I think [Cape Verde] have had chats with my dad and Duk told me I’m invited,” said Tavares. “But, playing for Portugal, for every kid who grew up there that is the dream. If you have the opportunity to play with one of the best players, Cristiano Ronaldo, that is a dream.

Tavares is in a rich vein of form at Hibs right now.

“I was born in Portugal and my parents were born there but every player thinks it’s very important to represent any country they can so if I have to give up on Portugal, then I would make that decision for my benefit. Playing for Cape Verde would be nice because my family going back all come from there and everyone would be proud of me.”

With that, it’s clear that his passion for the game has been recovered.

Jair Tavares' Hibs renaissance: The Aberdeen player who helped, 'smile and pretend that everything is OK', latest dilemma