Peter Haring has been recuperating at home

The midfielder returned to his homeland to be nearer family and friends whilst recuperating from a pelvic problem. He is expected back towards the end of September and Hearts hope he will return to action fairly quickly.

Haring has been troubled by the injury for months despite undergoing double hernia surgery in January this year. He has been unable to feature in any pre-season or competitive Hearts games so far.

The club have missed arguably their most influential midfielder but decided to send him back to Austria in the hope he makes a full recovery.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

“We sent him home because he doesn’t really have anybody here to support him,” manager Craig Levein told the Evening News. “It’s fine when you’re playing but when you are injured it’s a bit more difficult. I always find it puts players mentally in a calmer place if they are back home.

“All being well, Peter should be back in four weeks not far away from being ready to play. That would be a good scenario for us and for him.”

Haring’s absence has been keenly felt by Hearts. His presence in the holding midfield position was a difficult one to replace, hence Levein’s moves to sign the Frenchman Loic Damour from Cardiff City and the Republic of Ireland internationalist Glenn Whelan in recent weeks.

Teenage midfielder Andy Irving has also enjoyed more game time this season to date as a result of Haring’s injury.

The Austrian saw two separate specialists during July in an attempt to get to the bottom of his persistent problem. They advised a sustained period of rest lasting around two months, and with that Hearts ruled the player out until September.