Heart of Midlothian will be boosted by the return of players from injury when they get back to Scottish Premiership action this weekend following the international break.
The club have been hit by several injuries this year, but progress has been made with a number of first-team stars, while the trip to Livingston could come too soon for two players.
Craig Halkett and Tomas Magnusson are set to return for Sunday's fixture, while Stephen Kingsley could also be available.
Stuart Findlay and Harry Milne have not trained as of yet. The defensive duo are not being ruled out for the weekend, but the game could come too soon. If it does, they should return for the final fixture before the split against Motherwell.
Others have benefitted from the break, with Beni Baningime working with the physios before returning to full training, while Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin, Kingsley and Finlay Pollock have all topped up their fitness with work last week and this week.
It could leave Derek McInnes with plenty of options as Hearts head into the final seven games of the season.
"Beni and Halkett had been with the physios all week last week just to settle things down, back and knee. Tomas was given a few days off to go back to Iceland while we waited for his mask to be delivered over the weekend there. And then getting Stephen Kingsley back training," the Hearts head coach told Hearts Standard.
"Stu Findlay and Harry Milne, while they're not back in training, we're still hopeful that they can be back maybe for Sunday, but certainly Motherwell.
"Lawrence, Cammy, Finlay Pollock and Kingsley, they were in four or five days working, just trying to top up fitness as well with the opportunity to do it. I think it's been really beneficial for these boys to get a bit more work into their legs.
"[Kingsley] ticked all the boxes last week with the physios and he's managed to put in four training sessions the last week. As it stands, Stephen should be available for us."
Some players were given time off at the end of last week, including Magnusson and Claudio Braga, having played a full calendar year of football.
It provided them a time to rest and reset, but continue to work on a programme given to them by the club.
"I think it's good just from a mental rest from everything as well as the physical part of it. The physical part of it, where we can't shut down too much, we're always mindful of that.
"We try and get the balance right when there's an opportunity. Certainly, from the mental part of it, I think it's good not to think about football for a few days. It's difficult as that is for us all.
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"I think sometimes for the lads who are over here and making the sacrifice, certainly for Claudio on his own, it's good for them to then get back to being amongst his family and friends."
Meanwhile, Islam Chesnokov and Landry Kabore will return to training on Friday following international duty with Kazakhstan and Burkina Faso, respectively.
Kabore scored in a friendly win over Guinea-Bissau over the weekend and was an unused substitute last night. Chesnokov featured in wins against Namibia and Comoros in the FIFA series. The Hearts forward was given the player of the tournament award.
"It's good that he got a goal and Islam had quite a positive experience as well. Hopefully, both lads can come back in and feel good about themselves," McInnes noted.
"There's certainly been no issues. It'll be good to get them back into the country safe and sound."
