Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland is back training and in the frame to face Dundee

Lawrence Shankland returned to Riccarton today and trained with Hearts ahead of Tuesday's Premiership match against Dundee.

The striker missed Saturday's Scottish Cup win against Spartans through illness but reported back to the Hearts training base early on Monday morning. Hearts are confident he will be available to face Dundee at Tynecastle after scoring 18 goals at club level this season.

His instincts were missed at the weekend as Hearts scraped through to the fifth round with a 2-1 win at Ainslie Park. Shankland's future remains the subject of intense speculation but Tynecastle officials have yet to receive a concrete transfer offer for the 28-year-old. They want to keep him beyond the end of the January window unless a bid of several million pounds comes in.

Shankland completed the training session this morning and is now in contention for a starting place against Dundee. Hearts will be aiming for three points in that fixture to stretch their five-point lead in third place in the Premiership table.

Changes to the starting line-up are expected, with manager Steven Naismith to name his goalkeeper for the match. He reinstated Craig Gordon against Spartans after the 41-year-old worked his way back to fitness following a double leg break which sidelined him for 13 months.

Zander Clark was the substitute goalkeeper against Spartans but he was in fine form for Hearts prior to the winter break. Naismith will decide who should keep goal against Dundee having stated the he feels he can keep both keepers happy for the rest of the campaign.