Wallace could be back tonight

The negative news that Rudi Skacel could well miss today's game in Paisley has been balanced by the prospect of a return for Lee Wallace. Skacel has been playing with a small tear in his calf, but Jim Jefferies anticipates the Czech Republic midfielder should be ready to play in the New Year's Day derby against Hibs if he misses tonight’s game against St Mirren.  Wallace has not played since suffering a knee injury playing for Scotland against Liechtenstein on 7 September. The original prognosis was Wallace would be out for the remainder of the season. Jefferies said: "He doesn't look as if he's ever been injured. In training he's tackling people, he's working up and down and putting a lot of effort into it. He's not watching himself or trying to save himself. He's doing well, he's been catching the eye and right now I don't see any reason why we shouldn't put him in the squad."

Ruben Palazuelos has been playing as a stand-in left-back while Wallace has been on the sidelines as Hearts have enjoyed a run of eight wins and a draw in the last 10 games. But Skacel's calf problem could see Palazuelos return to his favoured midfield role and Wallace back in action. Jefferies, though, may opt for a straight swap and may resist the urge to throw Wallace in from the start. Jefferies went on: "I've got a lot of options with him (Wallace). He played centre back last year. He's a top quality player. To have him available is terrific." Jefferies revealed Skacel  has been playing on despite his injury. The midfielder could be left out for fear of making the problem worse. Speaking yesterday, Jefferies added: "We just felt it was starting to aggravate him a wee bit more so the physio feels missing a game might mean he might not be out for as long, if he did go out. It might have put him out for five to six weeks, but we think he'll be okay and there's every chance he could be ready for the weekend if he misses tomorrow."

Jefferies is making sure that he and his players concentrate on the game in hand than looking forward to the New Year derby against Hibs or the prospect of splitting the Old Firm in the second half of the season. He said: "We played very well against them and had a good result when we played them at home (won 3-0). We've just got to focus on what we're doing at the moment and the hardest game for us is the next game, which is St Mirren."

Jefferies is set to meet with Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov and non-executive director Sergejus Fedotovas in the next week or so, but is not actively looking to add to his squad during the transfer window, which opens on Saturday. He said: "I don't think it's anything to do with the transfer window, we're just looking at this stage of the season to assess how the squad's going and what we see happening. It's really just a catch up. The squad's done that well that if we could get somebody it would be somebody that would really enhance us. That's going to be difficult to do because it would take a huge signing to do that. It's not vital, but I think it's always good for the squad when a new face comes in. If there's a chance we'll look at it. If there's not, we're happy with what we've got and we'll assess it again at the end of the season."