Achilles injury ends Hearts defender John Souttar's season early
Thursday 2 February 2017 14:50, UK
Hearts defender John Souttar has been ruled out for the rest of the season after he ruptured his Achilles in their weekend defeat at Celtic.
The former Dundee United player will have surgery next week having been hurt in the closing stages of the 4-0 defeat to the Premiership champions on Sunday.
Souttar landed awkwardly while contesting a high ball and had to be carried off on a stretcher, with scans revealing the extent of the damage.
The 20-year-old, who only missed five games this term prior to his injury, told Hearts' official website: "There's positives and negatives to take from the situation.
"On the bright side, I'm not spending a year on the sidelines. However, I'm still gutted that I won't get to finish the rest of the campaign.
"It's been a good season for me up until this point as I had been playing every week, but I'll just use that as motivation to get back to fitness and win my place back in the team.
"I've got the likes of Callum Paterson and Sam Nicholson who will be able to offer me advice on long-term injuries and I know I'll have the support of everyone at the club.
"Now we just get the operation out of the way and aim for returning in pre-season a stronger and better player."
