Wallace tipped to bounce back

Wallace: Serious injury

Lee's a determined player and he's young enough to recover

Jim Jefferies
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Hearts manager Jim Jefferies expects Lee Wallace to come back fighting fit from his serious knee injury.

The left-back faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after it was confirmed on Wednesday he suffered a torn knee ligament in Scotland's last-gasp win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Wallace will find out in the coming days whether he will require surgery on the injury, with an appointment with a specialist in London booked in and Jefferies is optimistic the 23-year-old will make a full recovery.

"Lee's a determined player and he's young enough to recover," the manager said.

"We can't jump the gun, we know what it is, what the scan showed. How he recovers from it is down to seeing the specialist in London.

"The likelihood is that he'll need an operation, but if he doesn't it might be just rehabilitation.

"Whatever it is it's going to be a long time out.

"We just have to accept the worst and fear for the rest of the season, but who knows?

"We'll try and find the quickest way to get him back and I'm sure with his determination and the age he is he'll get back sooner rather than later."

Hearts meet Celtic this weekend with Jefferies looking for a left-back and a captain, saying: "It's a huge blow for the boy.

"Things were going well for him, he started the season great, he was made captain and then he gets into the Scotland team.

"He's a big loss to the team, but we just have to get on with it."