Burley: Bed will bounce back

PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS boss George Burley today tipped star striker Roman Bednar to bounce back from the knee injury which is set to rule him out of action for up to six weeks.

The Czech Under-21 front man was due to go under the knife in a Leeds hospital today to repair the torn cartilage suffered in the win over Rangers on Saturday. Bednar scored the only goal of the game at the weekend but failed to finish the first half after being hurt in a tackle by Marvin Andrews.

Following scans on Monday and a visit to a specialist in Leeds yesterday, it has been decided that surgery is required. Burley is expecting the front man to be sidelined for more than a month, his absence a crushing blow for the league leaders as they seek to maintain their impressive start to the season.

"We don't think there is any ligament damage but there it's a setback for the lad," said Burley.

Bednar's absence gives Burley an immediate problem for the weekend trip to Falkirk with his only other recognised striker Michal Pospisil having returned to full training just this week.

"I have a problem in that I only have one fit striker at my disposal," said the Hearts boss, who'll be hoping nothing affects the fitness of Edgar Jankauskas prior to the clash.

Greek defender Takis Fyssas is still hampered by the recurring knee injury which forced him out of the Rangers game moments after Bednar's departure and while he is responding to treatment, he is unlikely to train again until later in the week.

Taken from the Scotsman