Ageu has returned to Portugal to undertake the first part of his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury that will keep him out until the new year, while Heart of Midlothian boss Derek McInnes is hoping to have Beni Baningime and Calem Nieuwenhof available for the Rangers game.
The club's record signing sustained a third hamstring injury since joining from Santa Clara in August. The most recent one occurred towards the end of November, ahead of what was set to be his first start of the season against Aberdeen.
Ageu has been limited to three substitute appearances, but it is hoped he will have a big impact in the second half of the season once he recovers from injury.
Derek McInnes revealed that he's at the Portuguese FA doing his first three weeks of rehab and will return to the club prior to Christmas.
"We're in communication with the medical team there. It was something we discussed and we've seen a lot of benefits from that, both from a mental point of view, but also from a care point of view," he explained.
"Hopefully, we can just get that treatment that he's needing at the minute and he'll come back with us the week before Christmas. I think he's progressing well on that side."
McInnes recently spoke of looking for different solutions in the midfield due to the injury to Ageu and the absence of Beni Baningime.
Baningime, a hugely popular and influential player, has missed the last five matches with a hamstring strain and will sit out the weekend's match with Falkirk.
While there was a very minor setback over the weekend with the player getting a bug, which meant he missed a physio session on Saturday, provided all goes well, he could be back in contention for the Rangers fixture at Tynecastle Park a week on Sunday.
McInnes may also be able to call on Calem Nieuwenhof. The Aussie has had a nightmare spell since suffering a hamstring injury against Celtic in March 2024. He has played just 18 times since then, four of which were this season in the League Cup.
"Beni had a wee bit of a bug over the weekend, so he missed a physio session on Saturday, but he was back in right as rain again on Monday. He has been back on the pitch with Nieuwenhof in terms of running," McInnes said.
"Beni and Calem have been picking up their work and hopefully both of them can get back into training at some point next week. Certainly, the hope is that both could get some good work in before the Rangers game."
McInnes, when asked if the Rangers game was the timeline, added: "Yeah, that's what we'd hope for. I think they probably couldn't do with any setbacks either, the two of them.
"If they have a day that they've just maybe pushed a bit too much and then they have to maybe come off it, they might be touch-and-go. If they are ticking the boxes, as we expect, then they should hopefully back training with us next week at some point."
One player who will be available on Saturday for the trip to Falkirk, but absent for at least the next three games, is Landry Kabore.
The 24-year-old was, as expected, called up for the Burkina Faso squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
McInnes admitted he has something of a dilemma in terms of wanting the player to excel while not wanting him to miss too many matches.
"I think sometimes we're a bit guilty of maybe underestimating the African nations. I'm certainly aware that the AFCON is a huge deal for boys like Kabore and it's great for their profile, great experience from that big tournament environment. He was over the moon to be called up, so we obviously wish him well," he said.
"It's a wee bit tough because you want him to do well with his country, but you don't want his country to do too well because then he's away longer. At the minute, we'll miss him for three games - Rangers, Hibs and Livingston. There's an opportunity maybe for him to be back after that, but I think it's brilliant for him.
"There's going to be a lot of talented players, a lot of class players, well-known players, involved in the tournament. Hopefully, he can go and make his mark, as he's done certainly in the last couple of games with his country.
"I think you see how proud he is with his celebrations for his country and he came back elated. So it's a bit of mixed feelings for us because you like your players to go in, make that impact and have that success. Playing for your country is so important for so many players, but Kabore absolutely thrives on it."
McInnes has largely leant on Lawrence Shankland, Claudio Braga and Kabore in recent weeks. It has meant that James Wilson and Elton Kabangu have had to be patient.
Kabore's absence will, however, provide more opportunities.
"Obviously, I normally go with two strikers starting. I normally go with two on the bench and James. At times this season, he's been on the outside of that, which is tough. He's had a wee bit of a bug this week, but he's still come in and trained, and fair play to him for that. Good on him," McInnes said.
"It's like everything. When players aren't available, you've got a squad for a reason. We would obviously like Kabore still with us to help get through those festive fixtures, but, by the same token, we take comfort from what we've got in the building as well."
Hearts go into Saturday's fixture at Falkirk off the back of a 2-1 win at Celtic Park. Not only did it extend the team's lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to three points, but it ended a run of four games without a win.
The last time Hearts won in Glasgow, a 2-0 success at Rangers, McInnes kept with the same XI for a handful of games.
Is he tempted to do similar?
"We picked a team based on where we were going and how we expected them to set up. Falkirk are quite consistent with what they do. We would just look at every game on its merit, really," he said.
"I'm confident that, if there's going to be one or two little tweaks to it, then it would only be that. Sometimes you win games and you don't need to look too hard to change too much. I think every game still needs to be looked at on its merits. And Falkirk are different from Celtic."
Hearts were able to bring forward this fixture, which will be shown live on Sky Sports with an 8pm kick-off, from later in the month after their meeting with St Mirren was postponed due to their involvement in the League Cup final.
It means the festive schedule is not as intense as in the previous season.
"I've been involved with clubs when sometimes it's eight or nine games in December. It's actually not too bad. Because of that December 30 fixture being moved to this weekend, it's actually quite steady. It's quite a normal December for us in terms of preparation, but it is an important time," he noted.
"Christmas is for everybody else. It's not really for professional footballers. You've got to have that focus. People shut down. People come along to these games over this period. They want to be entertained, it's for families and everyone else. But for players, it's such an important period. I think if you can come through that and really commit to it and be really focused on it, then you can get the benefit of that.
"Ideally, you want to be as strong as possible going into these games, but we've got some exciting games. Obviously, Falkirk is sold out again from our point of view and live on TV. Then you've got the Rangers game - live, sellout. Hibs - live, sellout. So there's a lot on these games. They are exciting games and easy to get up for. As the season goes on, we just want each game to be bigger than the next one and hopefully, we deal with that.
