Hibs handed Dylan Levitt injury boost with second player tipped for Aston Villa role

Manager Lee Johnson is without long-term absentees Chris Cadden and Harry McKirdy, who are recovering from an Achilles problem and heart issue respectively, but could be boosted by the return of midfielder and former Villa youngster Jake Doyle-Hayes.

“We can expect Jake Doyle-Hayes to be potentially back on the scene in one of the two games or maybe even the first leg because he has trained the last couple of days,” Johnson said, shortly after confirming that Dutch striker Dylan Vente was showing no ill-effects despite being caught in the face by Liam Dick’s high boot in the latter stages of Sunday’s 2-1 Viaplay Cup victory over Raith Rovers and would be available for Wednesday night.

There was also positive news on midfielder Dylan Levitt, who was forced off early in the second half of the 2-2 draw with Luzern in Switzerland last week with what looked like a nasty ankle problem. Johnson warned after the game that the Welsh internationalist could be sidelined for a considerable amount of time if it transpired that he had damaged the ligaments, but a scan on Monday allayed fears of a more serious problem.

It is a welcome boost for Johnson, who had to ask Josh Campbell to play through the pain barrier against Luzern, with the midfielder’s shoulder wrapped in strapping, while Élie Youan missed the 2-1 cinch Premiership defeat by Motherwell at Fir Park with back trouble before returning to hit two goals and two assists in two games against Luzern and Raith. The coaching staff have also had to manage Martin Boyle’s return to action following nearly ten months out with an ACL issue.

"We got good news on Dylan Levitt after his scan, to the point that his injury is not as bad as we first feared,” Johnson explained. ‘It's more the capsule than it is the ligament, which means that once the swelling has subsided, he can step up his progression quicker so probably two to three weeks, maybe after the international break, he'll be back which is good news because he's a good player."