Steven Naismith has revealed Heart of Midlothian's four long-term absentees are at a point where it is "comfortable enough to have them in squads" - but confirmed Liam Boyce and Cammy Devlin will miss the Premiership fixture with Rangers.

Boyce was replaced in the first-half of the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock, while Devlin, a second-half substitute, picked up a knock towards the end of the match. Naismith admitted "there's a chance" both could return for the trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen on Saturday.

Those absences have been offset by a hugely positive update on Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett, Barrie McKay and Nathaniel Atkinson. The former duo haven't played since Christmas Eve last year, while the latter pair have made just 13 appearances between them this campaign. All four are at a point where they come into contention for a return to the matchday squad.

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"It’s too soon for Boycey and Cammy," Naismith said. "Their injuries are better than expected at the time but Wednesday comes too quickly and it's too high risk to involve them. They'll miss out but the others are all in contention.

"The boys that have been longer term are now at the point where we are comfortable enough to have them in squads. Whether that’s Wednesday or next week over the next month there will definitely be change within the squad because of the number of games, injuries but on top of that who we feel is most valuable for each game. We are in a good place overall."

Halkett and Gordon have had a longer road to recovery with the club keen to be patient to ensure they don't break down following their return. McKay and Atkinson's injuries have been less severe.

"There’s been the period that they have been back in training for a good three or four weeks," Naismith said. "Barrie McKay and Natty Atkinson have been back in training for 10 days so are now past the point of ‘are they going to be able to survive it?' to being in contention.

"We now need to think about how much game time they’ve had and fitness loss since they were involved before. We’ll deal with that. As injuries happen squad spaces open up but then the bigger picture is who do we need for each game.

"Saturday there was more of a battle and a horrible game of football that some players are less likely to play. The games coming up will be different again."

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