The Australian has not played since March due to injury
Calem Nieuwnehof’s visit to a specialist brought positive news for the player and Hearts when it was revealed that his injury setback is not serious. The Australian midfielder went for a consultation on Monday after feeling pain in his leg, but the verdict was not as bad as first feared.
Estimates are that he should be back in full training next month and building towards a return to competitive action thereafter. Having been sidelined since 3 March with a hamstring injury later diagnosed as a torn tendon, Nieuwenhof has missed part of Hearts’ pre-season campaign whilst struggling to recover fully from surgery.
Pain increased 10 days ago and Riccarton medical staff decided to refer him to a specialist. The outcome of that is rather more positive than it might otherwise have been, with the 23-year-old now given a programme to follow which should return him to full fitness.
“Ten days ago, he had a bit of a setback and he wasn’t comfortable with it,” explained the Hearts head coach Steven Naismith, speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News. “The area was a bit more sore than it had been previously. When you’ve had an operation, that is unusual. Calem saw the specialist and it’s actually not anything too bad at all.
“The target was for him to be back in training now and maybe had some minutes by the start of the competitive season. Maybe we now have to push that back a couple of weeks. It’s a much better outcome than what you are fearing when he comes off the [training] pitch and tells you he is much sorer than he was. That part is a positive.
“He has maybe lost a couple of weeks but I will take that all day long compared to what the other outcomes could have been. When he plays will depend how quickly he can get back up to speed, but I would expect him back on the training pitch in the next two or three weeks. Hopefully he can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nieuwenhof made 29 appearances for Hearts last season and established himself as a regular in midfield after arriving from Western Sydney Wanderers. His first campaign in Scotland was cut short but coaching staff are hopeful he can have a similar impact in the months ahead.
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