MELBOURNE Heart captain Fred will miss Saturday's A-League derby against his old side with a hamstring injury.

The midfielder was ruled out by doctors today after an MRI scan proved inconclusive following his first-half substitution in the 2-1 loss to Perth Glory.



Fred, who has been among Heart’s best players in the opening two matches, tweaked his hamstring in the pre-game warm up but opted to start. The injury did not appear to affect him in the early stages.



While Fred’s injury is not serious, the six-day turnaround has led to Heart’s football department erring on the side of caution.



Football director John Didulica said on Monday the club wanted to take every precaution with Fred.



"You don't want to be too cavalier with a hamstring," he said .



Fred is likely to return for the round 4 clash against Sydney FC.



The silver lining for coach John van't Schip is that Clint Bolton appears ready to return to the starting line-up after recovering from a groin strain.

Bolton trained on Monday and, assuming he gets through Thursday's main session, he will return in place of Nikola Roganovic.

Simon Colosimo will almost certainly make the squad. Whether he starts or not will be determined later in the week.



Jason Hoffman, one of Heart's best pre-season performers, will also return after overcoming illness.



The Melbourne derby kicks off at Etihad Stadium at 7.45pm.

Originally published as Injured Fred to miss derby clash