Cruciate ligament injury rules Hearts' Boyce out for rest of season

Hearts striker Liam Boyce is set to miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a serious injury in Sunday’s win over St Johnstone.

The Northern Ireland forward suffered a cruciate ligament tear during the 3-2 victory at Tynecastle and could now be out for seven to nine months.

The 31-year-old scored 16 times in 41 games to finish last season as the Jambos’ top scorer as they secured European group stage football.

He will now likely miss Hearts’ entire Conference League campaign as a result of the injury, leaving Scotland cap Lawrence Shankland to lead the line.

Defender Kye Rowles is also scheduled to be out for at least the next few weeks with a metatarsal issue.

Manager Robbie Neilson added German midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou on a four-year deal over the weekend, but admitted he may have to be “more aggressive” in the final days of the transfer window in order to add depth to his squad.

“We know we need to get a couple in,” he said.

“It might mean we are a bit more aggressive but there’s no point worrying about it just now.”

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