Jason Thomson tonic for Laszlo as he nears return

The 22-year-old full-back was yesterday undergoing a batch of tests with a view to returning to the first-team squad in time to make his comeback in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League match against St Mirren.

The news is a welcome lift for manager Csaba Laszlo, who has been without the defender's namesake and rearguard colleague Craig Thomson since the end of October.

Defensive injuries have forced Laszlo to turn to youngsters Marius Cinikas and Rocky Visconte in recent matches. Both were forced into action from the start in the 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat against Aberdeen at the weekend.

The Hearts manager told his club's website, www.heartsfc.co.uk: "It has been a frustrating time for Jason but hopefully he is nearing the end of this.

"We must be careful with him but it is positive that he is nearly ready again and we will see how he goes this week."

Visconte, meanwhile, has reflected on his first-team debut in Saturday's Active Nation Scottish Cup loss at Pittodrie.

The 19-year-old Australian, who had only played five behind-closed-doors friendlies this season before the trip north, said: "It was pretty hard against Aberdeen. I struggled with my breathing a bit but it was good.

"I tried not to do anything fancy and just play straightforward football.

"For a young player like me it's good training full-time with the first-team squad, you learn from them.

"There are players like me at all Scottish clubs, just waiting for a chance. Many try to go out on loan but it's not always possible.

"I'm lucky enough to get a chance in the first team but some other youngsters will only play a handful of games a season."

Visconte knows his opportunity has come as a result of injuries to more experienced players. The likes of Jose Goncalves, Lee Wallace and Andrew Driver were on the injured list on Saturday, while Ruben Palazuelos was suspended after his red card against Hibs. "I found out on Friday I was starting when we trained at Tynecastle and with Lee Wallace and Andrew Driver injured it gave me an opportunity," he explained. "It's a big learning curve for me and hopefully I've shown the gaffer I can come in and do a job.

"Sometimes it is frustrating not playing games all the time but if you keep working hard and doing what the gaffer says you'll maybe be lucky enough to get a chance."

Hearts have announced that their SPL game with Hamilton has been put back 24 hours to Sunday, 21 February after a request from Lothian and Borders Police, who are dealing with non-sports related events the previous day.