| Hearts midfielder Ruben Palazuelos has undergone minor knee surgery, manager Jim Jefferies has confirmed. The 27-year-old Spaniard had the operation on what is thought to be a cyst on Thursday in a bid to ensure he will be fit for pre-season. He will therefore miss Sunday's meeting with Celtic, the final game of the season. Explaining he had put off surgery until Hearts' Europa League fate had been decided - and all but mathematically it has - Jefferies said: "Because of the nature of the games, we needed him. He's had a minor operation to get something sorted out. He had that done yesterday to give him enough time to recover in the summer for the pre-season ahead. I think it was a small cyst on the knee." Jefferies will also consider resting midfielders Ian Black, Suso Santana and Ryan Stevenson this weekend to avoid them picking up bookings that would see them banned for the start of next season. Eggert Jonsson and Ismael Bouzid are already facing suspension. Jefferies said: "Ian Black could serve a three-match suspension if he gets a booking. Obviously, we ran that risk in the last couple of games because these games were vital. You could end up with five missing at the start of the season." |