Aguiar frustrated by lack of power for run-in as injury lay-off tells

A serious ankle injury which at one point cast doubts over his career meant he did no t play between April 2007 and October 2008. While the Hearts first-team squad were pounding the lush training fields near Wiesbaden on their pre-season tour last July, Aguiar was continuing his exhaustive rehabilitation programme in the hope of finally returning to competitive action.

He managed to do so in spectacular fashion, scoring an equalising free-kick in his comeback match against Hibs at Easter Road, but the initial adrenalin rush has long gone. And the 28-year-old is now encountering a certain listlessness not normally associated with his play.

"I must say I have felt tired over the last three or four games," he conceded. "I feel my body has no power but I was out for a long time. When you do not play for such a long time you need the same amount of time to come back. I know this is normal but I am thinking positively and I feel much better after the injury.

"In the last three or four games, my performance has gone down a little but that is normal. I did not do pre-season and I have played non-stop, that's why my body feels like it is without power.

"I try to work in training and do my best in the games. Sometimes things don't happen how I want them to, but it's important that I am training well and I think that will continue." The consequence of Aguiar's weariness has been his early retiral from recent matches. Manager Csaba Laszlo has taken to substituting him to avoid unnecessary niggling injuries developing within such a crucial player.

Whereas many footballers would be discontented by such a recurring routine, Aguiar accepts that it is sometimes necessary for the benefit of the team.

"This is football, sometimes you don't play like the gaffer wants," he continued. "If you want to play you must respect this. Sometimes you are a little angry about it but this is football and you must accept what the manager does."

He has followed Laszlo's instructions to the letter when on the field, however. A role in behind a lone striker was somewhat alien to Aguiar when Laszlo first suggested it but he has grown to deliver some inspiring displays in the conventional "number ten" berth this season. He declares no preference for any position as someone who can operate just as effectively as an orthodox central midfielder or in the holding role.

"I just prefer to start, this is all that matters to me," he said. "I feel comfortable in both positions. Sometimes I prefer the number ten position, sometimes I feel better as number eight, but the most important is that, when I play, I am happy."

Aguiar's injury problems, although now cured, represent merely the tip of the iceberg for Laszlo since his arrival at Tynecastle last July. The manager has had to watch several key players succumb to a series of different ailments this season. Most recently, Larry Kingston, left, and Andy Driver were beset by hamstring complaints and Laszlo admitted these are a source of particular anguish at Riccarton.

"It's a problem, never in my career as a coach have I had so many hamstring injuries," he explained. "I've asked my technical staff, my doctors, the physios and they told me it's from the hard and soft ground. Maybe it's true, but we maybe must prepare better in the future. It's really hard for the players."

Kingston is due back in Edinburgh in a matter of days and is expected to be able to resume playing in less than three weeks. Jason Thomson should begin running next week, while Driver is likely to be available when Kilmarnock visit Tynecastle on Saturday, April 4.

Taken from the Scotsman