Hearts' list of walking wounded is on the wane at Tynecastle at last

HEARTS have reported significant injury progress in the last seven days as Bruno Aguiar, Andy Driver and Mike Tullberg prepare to return to full training this week.
Aguiar, the Portuguese midfielder, has not played for 17 months due to ankle and knee problems, while Tullberg suffered a ruptured thigh muscle during July's pre-season tour of Germany. Driver's inflamed ankle has improved and, along with Tullberg, he should be fit to face Dundee United next Saturday.

Subsiding injury problems have brought relief for manager Csaba Laszlo, who is now only awaiting recoveries from David Obua and Deividas Cesnauskis in addition to long-term victims Mirsad Beslija and Robbie Neilson.

The Hungarian refuses to become overly depressed by injuries but admitted that returning players provide encouragement to everyone at Riccarton.

He said: "This is a young team and they are learning. I don't think we have a big problem. The most important for me is the injured players who are coming back. I am thinking about Bruno Aguiar, who has been injured a long time. On Monday, he will definitely train with the team. This is positive.

"Mike Tullberg is back and has been following a special programme for his fitness. He will train with the team and next week I hope he can play maybe 45 minutes in the reserves. After, maybe he is in the squad.

"Andy Driver is okay and on Monday he will be back training with the team and he will definitely be in the squad against Dundee United.

"David Obua and Cesnauskis can come back in two weeks hopefully. If you always have games with the national teams you can always have these problems. We must accept it and be careful. We have a small squad with young people. We had two weeks' break and during that time we lost these players.

"This is normal football life but the doctors are working well. In all my life I don't look for problems, I look for solutions. Believe me, I hate people who always come to me and say 'I have a problem, I have a problem,' but never tell me a solution. If someone says they have a problem I would like to know they are thinking about the next step to give me a solution, give me some ideas."

Stressing that he will always accentuate positives in any situation, Laszlo continued: "Fans told me after the Falkirk game, 'we lost and we were doing so well.' I said, 'guys, we were good'. We didn't take points but we must learn. This is what I said before: Good football is nothing. Nice football is nothing. To be dominant in the field is nothing. Success is the key. If you win every game 1-0, nobody tells you that you have a bad game. Everybody is happy.

"What is modern now that has been the same for 20 years? Success. If you play with a libero but win every game, nobody will tell you that you use a tactic from 1960.

"We have given good performances in every game. Now the most important is this team must learn: We must score. I am a little bit sad about this situation. Against Falkirk, we lost two goals from only two shots. This is what we must stop.

"We are working well in midfield, we stay compact but one shot means one goal. Sometimes it's unlucky but the other side is we have won two games in the last minute. This is a positive."

Laszlo remains embroiled in a dispute with his former employers, the Ugandan Football Federation, who are attempting to sue him for breach of contract when he defected to Scotland in July.

However, the Hungarian is not unduly concerned by a possible lawsuit, stressing that he is not guilty of any such charge. He said: "Three weeks before I came here, the Ugandan federation president said everything was okay because I said I wanted to work with Hearts. Three days later I read in the newspapers he was taking me to court.

"I have my lawyer in Uganda and he told me not to worry. He does his job there and I do my job here. I didn't break my contract and my lawyer has all the evidence. I concentrate on my job and that is Hearts.

"If I go to FIFA, Uganda have a big problem. I had a contract with them. If anyone can decide, it's FIFA. The Ugandan Football Federation's lawyer knows if he goes there, he loses."

Taken from the Scotsman