Levein sweat over skipper

PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS boss Craig Levein was today sweating over the fitness of inspirational skipper Steven Pressley after the defender suffered a serious facial injury in Scotland’s defeat from Holland in Amsterdam.

The defender looks set to require dental surgery after losing two teeth after a clash with Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert in the closing moments of the 6-0 defeat in the second leg of the Euro 2004 play-off.

The contact looked accidental but Pressley was left stunned by the incident and he complained to the Barcelona front man about the use of his elbow.

He was then seen picking his broken teeth off the turf and handing them to Berti Vogts’ assistant Tommy Burns on the sidelines before playing out the final seconds of the Scots’ embarrassing defeat.

Pressley was due to be assessed by the club doctor at Tynecastle today with Levein keen to discover the full extent of the damage with the derby against Hibs just three days away.

"We will have to check on Elvis when he comes back to the club but it’s obviously a concern at the moment," he said.

"Knowing him he will want to play against Hibs so we will see how things go. It isn’t a muscle injury so if we can control the pain then I’d imagine he will be okay. But I can’t really say too much about it until I know more about his situation."

The Hearts captain absolved Kluivert from any blame in the incident but admitted he was in agony after the game.

"Patrick Kluivert caught me with an elbow," he said. "I don’t think it was intentional but it was very painful and I have lost two front teeth. Others have been pushed out of place and it will need to be looked at."

Taken from the Scotsman