Hearts boss on the hunt for a left-back

HEARTS boss Jim Jefferies has already started contacting free agents in the hope of finding a replacement for the injured Lee Wallace in time for this weekend's trip to Celtic.

A scan last night revealed the devastating news that the Tynecastle left-back suffered a tear to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee following a challenge from Martin Stocklasa while making his first competitive start for Scotland in Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier victory over Liechtenstein.

Whether his recovery is a speedy one or not, the defender's season seems to now be all but over and Jefferies' priority must now be to find someone capable of plugging the gap in the Hearts defence.

Eggert Jonsson and Ruben Palazuelos have both played in that position for Hearts before and Jefferies may have to call upon one of that pair for this weekend's trip to Glasgow. However, using either of those players defensively in the long run would reduce the manager's options in the middle of the park.

With that in mind, Jefferies, whose side put their unbeaten start on the line at Parkhead, conceded that bringing in a new face may be his best option.

"We are looking at how we can fill the hole at left-back," he said. "Eggert Jonsson has played in there for us before, as has Ruben Palazuelos, so that's a couple of options for us, not that we have too many others.

"Matthew Park is just a young boy who is coming back from a broken leg and he is a bit inexperienced.

"You just never know what is around the corner though, I have already made a couple of calls to see what our options are in terms of people who are out of contract. There's maybe