After a terrible Christmas Eve, the center half made his first outing in nearly a year.
As Hearts hobbled out of Pittodrie following their 2-1 loss to Aberdeen, there were few bright spots. However, one bright spot for the Edinburgh team was the return of key defender Craig Halkett.
With 20 minutes remaining in the encounter against the Dons, the 28-year-old entered as a replacement. Although Hearts were defeated by Leighton Clarkson in stoppage time, sending them back along the A90 empty-handed, Halkett’s comeback is encouraging. The center-half has not played for nearly a year after rupturing his ACL on a terrible Christmas Eve day in Dundee, where he and goalie Craig Gordon sustained life-threatening injuries. The former Livingston star has experienced setbacks during his tenure at Tynecastle, but when healthy and on the ball, he is among Hearts’ finest players.
Halkett acknowledged that it would have been nicer to be back on the field if Hearts had won the game in Aberdeen, but he was naturally happy to be playing again. Indeed, he remarked, “it was a nice feeling.” “I’m fit and ready to play, but it’s been a long road since last Christmas Eve, so it’s been a lot of hard work,” the player said. It has taken me a lot of effort, sweat, and tears to come back to this point because it has been 11 months since my last gaming session. It was a positive emotion. The way the game played out made it disappointing, but looking back in a few weeks, I can only see the benefits of simply putting some reps under my belt.
Since returning to training a few weeks ago, Halkett has had to exercise patience in the closing stages of his recovery journey. He went on, “I think everyone has been honest about where they were at—me, the coaching staff, and the medical staff. “I’m not stupid; I’m old enough, and I know the boys have been doing great.” I didn’t reach my goals and think I could just dive right back in. It was only a matter of being prepared when the moment arrived since I knew where I stood. Even though the past three weeks have been fantastic, today was disappointing.
Halkett thankfully reported no significant problems with his recovery. He remarked, “I think it’s been nine, ten, or eleven months out with the knee.” “I believe I would be really shocked if one individual managed to go that long without any problems. Fortunately, the ones I experienced lasted only a few weeks and consisted of mild sprains and strains of the muscles. Fortunately, there was no connection to the knee, so everything went quite smoothly.
What Halkett wants to do next is obvious. “A few more minutes,” he said. As previously said, the team has been performing incredibly well. It’s simply one of those situations where I have to work as hard as I can till the manager gives me the okay to return. Basically, I simply need to focus this week, give it my all, and then watch what transpires.
GET MORE NEWS HERE