Stephen Frail today revealed that Laryea Kingston is set to miss out on the next four weeks of action as he embarks on a detailed rehabilitation programme.

The Ghana midfielder sustained a serious foot injury before the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Nigeria.

Having missed the previous match against Morocco through suspension Larry came off the bench in the win against the Super Eagles, only to miss out on the semi-final defeat to Cameron and the subsequent bronze play-off against Ivory Coast.

Since returning to Scotland, the 26-year-old has sat out games against Celtic, Motherwell, Rangers and Inverness, and looking ahead it's unlikely he'll be involved in first team action before the trip to Kilmarnock on 5th April.

Interim manager Stephen Frail today told Hearts News, "It's proved to be quite a serious injury in the sense that whilst there is no break to the bone, the bruising is very deep.

"Larry wore an air boot for the first few days of his treatment in order to give the foot time to begin the healing process, and now he's beginning a planned rehabilitation programme with the physiotherapy department, starting this week with some jogging.

"It's obviously a blow that Larry's not been able to recover from the injury but it's so important that we get him properly fit."

The former Hearts of Oak star is working under the guidance of a top specialist in London, who is overseeing his return to full fitness.

"The key thing with an injury to the foot is that it is an area that takes significant weight bearing stress, simply because of where it is," Stephen continued.

"The problem area is his cuneiform bones, whilst his metatarsals were also affected. It's also important that we don't just build strength back up in his bones, but also take into account the ligaments in that area as they suffer too with an injury like this."

The affected foot, which is the opposite one to the ankle problem Larry suffered before the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in his homeland, is already making progress.

"It's not ideal, by any stretch of the imagination to be without Larry for the next four weeks, but it's really important that we have him back fully fit.

"We very much hope we'll have some big games after the 'split' so it could be crucial to have him involved in those."

On Hearts.TV today - watch highlights later from the reserves thumping victory over Inverness. Hearts.TV subscribers will also be able to watch exclusive highlights of the HYDC Fundraising Match, which proved to be a classic!