De Vries and Pereira both to miss derby

PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS strikers Mark de Vries and Ramon Pereira have lost their battles to be fit for tomorrow’s derby against Hibs, boss Craig Levein revealed today.

Although both travelled to Holland with the squad for the UEFA Cup clash with Feyenoord on Thursday, neither player featured in Levein’s plans as the Dutch giants cruised to a 3-0 triumph in the opening match in Group A.

It had been hoped there would have been sufficient improvement over the last couple of days for at least one of them to be considered for the first Capital showdown of the season but Levein will yet again have to formulate his game plan without his first-choice strike force.

De Vries was sent home from Rotterdam on Thursday morning for more treatment on his poisoned toe in a bid to have him available for the Tynecastle meeting but his manager has ruled him out with the Dutchman not due to leave hospital until today.

Pereira had been struggling with an ankle injury sustained against Braga in the previous round of the UEFA Cup, the Spaniard hurt in the closing minutes of the Jambos’ famous victory in Portugal.

The 26-year-old had been improving but he trained on Wednesday night at the De Kuip Stadium and reported continued discomfort which has prompted Levein to overlook him for tomorrow as well.

"Mark wasn’t due to leave hospital until today so he won’t be involved and Ramon is also still feeling his ankle injury so he won’t be involved either," said Levein.

"Everyone else appears to be okay after the Feyenoord game, unless of course someone suffers a delayed reaction."

The absence of De Vries and Pereira means that the Gorgie chief will again rely on Graham Weir and Kevin McKenna against Hibs tomorrow, the pair having featured against Feyenoord despite only just getting back to fitness following injury and illness. McKenna made his first start of the season in the De Kuip Stadium, while Weir came off the bench five minutes from half-time as Hearts changed their system in a bid to force their way back into the match in Rotterdam.

There was better news for Levein regarding midfield powerhouse Phil Stamp, who has recovered from the bout of sickness which laid him low on the day of the game in Rotterdam.

The Englishman had been a certain starter against the Dutch giants until the 24-hour bug struck, forcing Levein to alter his midfield line-up. The former Middlesbrough star has shown a marked improvement since his return to the Capital and will bring some added steel to the hosts’ engine room tomorrow.

"Phil is okay now," said Levein. "He had a 24-hour sickness bug but he is better now and will be okay for tomorrow."

Taken from the Scotsman