Hearts lose Calvin Miller for two months as knee surgery adds to injury crisis

Hearts winger Calvin Miller is expected to be sidelined for two months after a knee injury that requires surgery, BBC Sport reported on Wednesday. The 28-year-old was hurt during Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat by Hibernian at Hampden Park, adding to an injury list that now includes 10 first-team players.

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Miller had helped Hearts take an early lead by supplying the assist for Claudio Braga's opening goal. His afternoon ended in the 37th minute, after midfielder Tomas Magnusson had already been forced off with concussion in the 14th. Hibernian moved into a 2-1 lead shortly after Miller's departure.

BBC Sport reported that head coach Wouter Vrancken would take only 19 players to Switzerland for Thursday's Conference League match against Thun, six fewer than the normal maximum squad of 25. Magnusson is also expected to remain unavailable until after the international break, leaving Hearts without both players following their first-half exits at Hampden.

The Edinburgh News had reported on Monday that Magnusson was taken to hospital and was feeling better later on Sunday. Vrancken explained that the midfielder would have to follow concussion protocols. Miller, meanwhile, had left the stadium using crutches with his leg supported by a brace, before undergoing further assessment of the knee problem.

The newspaper's injury update also listed Christian Borchgrevink, Craig Halkett, Harry Milne, Oisin McEntee, Blair Spittal, Tom Renaud, Eduardo Ageu and Rogers Mato among those already absent. Vrancken said Ageu had resumed work on the pitch but had not yet joined group training, and he did not expect the injured players to recover in time for the European trip.

European squad registration adds another constraint. According to the Edinburgh News, Yan Dhanda and Amadou Ba-Sy are not registered for the competition, while Hearts had already replaced the injured Spittal with Malachi Fagan-Walcott. Vrancken said the club would check whether further changes were possible but did not expect to be able to make them.