Hibs injury latest as Marink Reedijk provides Nathan Lowe update

The Stoke City loanee has been sidelined by the issue and Reedijk does not expect to have him available immediately after the international break, with Hibs taking a cautious approach to his recovery.

“Nathan Lowe has a stress fracture,” Reedijk explained. “It’s week by week. We have to evaluate and make sure that he doesn't come back too soon.

“It will take some extra weeks as well, so Nathan is not back directly after the international break.”

There is better news for Jacob Devaney and Jordan Obita, with both expected to move closer to a return during the break in domestic action.

Reedijk added: “It's more Jacob Devaney and Jordan Obita who we count on to be back for the next training sessions in the international break.”

A return for Devaney would give Reedijk a long-awaited opportunity to properly assess the midfielder, having had precious little time to work with him since taking charge at Easter Road.

The Hibs manager has only had Devaney available for two training sessions, along with a brief five-minute appearance in Dundee, before injury interrupted his involvement.

Reedijk is reluctant to make any firm judgement on the player until he has seen him at close quarters over a sustained period.

“The difficulty for me is that I've seen Jacob Devaney for two training sessions and five minutes on the pitch against Dundee United,” he said. “After that, I haven't seen him or worked with him.

“So the only thing I can see is videos, but I never want to judge a player on videos only. I want to have worked with them and have a feeling with them on the pitch and off the pitch.

“Off the pitch, I have an idea of who he is as a person. But now I also want to see how he brings this to the pitch, and this I cannot judge yet.”

While injuries have prevented Reedijk from working with certain members of his squad on the training pitch, the Dutchman has made a point of keeping in regular contact with those going through their rehabilitation.

That can come during lunch with the rest of the group or, on occasion, when a player happens to walk past his office and is summoned inside for a chat.

There is usually an offer of coffee involved too, although Reedijk joked that his reputation as Easter Road's leading barista has not necessarily won over his players.

“We have lunch together, so then you see the injured guys,” Reedijk said. “Sometimes if they come in and they walk past my office, I call them in.

“Like you guys know, I have the best coffee in the building. So then we're going to drink a coffee. Most often they don't like coffee, which is a shame!

“But then we speak about how things go. Have they seen the match? What do they think? How are they feeling? Where are they in the process? I try to get, every week, a little chat with everyone.”

It means Reedijk's contact with his injured players is not limited to updates from the medical department or conversations about when they might be able to return.

The Hibs boss wants them to remain part of the wider group while they are unable to train or play, as well as giving them the chance to discuss matches and offer their thoughts on what they have seen from the sidelines.

For Devaney in particular, the next stage of that process should soon involve considerably more time on the grass. With Reedijk having seen so little of him since arriving at Hibs, the international break could provide the manager with his first extended opportunity to work with the midfielder and begin forming a clearer picture of where he fits into his plans.