Hibs: Merouane Zemmama set to start against Honest Men

Zemmama has been out of action since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee only 14 minutes into a 3-1 win over Falkirk last March.

Since then, "Zouma" has only had 45 minutes of first-team football, appearing as a second half substitute as Hibs battled back to snatch a draw with Dundee United having been two goals down.

But now Calderwood, who has watched a number of his squad battling against a sickness bug in the build-up to today's fourth round tie, is ready to pitch the fans' favourite into action as the Easter Road outfit begin yet another bid to rid themselves of their Cup hoodoo.

While Calderwood has already ruled right back Michael Hart out with the knee injury which prevented him playing in the New Year's Day derby, the Hibs manager admitted he'll have to make a decision on the fitness of those affected by colds and flu, including, it is understood, leading scorer Derek Riordan.

He said: "We've had one or two sniffles and sickness through the week. We'll be double-checking how many days have been missed by those affected, it drains the body of energy.

"Any changes will be affected by their physical state, but we will be as strong as we can be. The thought process is to obviously win the game. We'll hopefully have the introduction of Zemmama which will be a terrific plus for us.

"The decision is whether or not he is ready to start but he has certainly looked very bright this week. So he is in the forefront of our minds."

Calderwood disclosed he's also mindful of the fact that after today's match Hibs will, with rearranged SPL clashes against St Mirren and Hamilton, have six games in the space of just 19 days starting with the visit of Celtic next Saturday.

The return of Zemmama, like that of fellow long-term injury victim Darryl Duffy, will help compensate for the loss of Sol Bamba following his move to Leicester City in terms of squad numbers but, nevertheless, Calderwood admitted his players will face a punishing schedule.

As such Calderwood will have the delicate task of ensuring he keeps each individual as fresh as possible while seeking to pick up the precious points which, hopefully, will lift Hibs away from the SPL relegation zone.