Odel Offiah decision confirmed as Hearts talk condition ahead of St Mirren

Brighton defender Odel Offiah has returned to Hearts on loan following a recent health scare that resulted in a trip back down south. Offiah went back to his parent club after receiving hospital treatment following a medical incident during a training session with Steven Naismith’s side.

The 20-year-old English footballer has now teamed up with the squad and is in training ahead of the weekend’s clash against St Mirren, per The Herald. Speaking ahead of last week’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen, Naismith said of Offiah: “He’ll be back involved with us. There were some issues with him feeling light-headed and we didn’t want to take any risks so between ourselves and Brighton we’ve sent him off to see a specialist and make sure everything’s fine for him to continue exercise.

“Over the last three years it’s been well documented the players that have had irregularities - it was just precautionary.”

Offiah has featured four times for Hearts this season, scoring on his debut against Partick Thistle, but it was initially unclear as to whether he would be returning north of the border. However, the versatile defender is now back at Tynecastle with an eye to making the pitch this weekend.

Speaking after the loan-deal had been confirmed, assistant manager Frankie McAvoy said: “It’s great to get Odel up here and the deal done. He’s a big strong lad so I’ve no concerns about him being able to handle the physicality of Scottish football. But more importantly, he’s a good football player and one who will give us even more options in terms of squad depth.”

Steven Naismith added: “We’ve added some real quality to the squad over the past couple of weeks and Odel is another piece of that jigsaw. He’ll bring versatility to our defence which is a real plus point, and with the attributes he possesses I know he’ll excel in any position he’s asked to play.”