Why Shankland's return is so crucial for leaders Hearts
Influential midfielder Cammy Devlin is back. Sidelined since January with a hamstring injury, Shankland made his return from the bench in Saturday's narrow win over Dundee. Although the 30-year-old forward did not provide the decisive moment, his 36-minute cameo highlighted why his comeback is so important for Hearts' title charge.
[SNS] Top of the league by the March international break. Influential midfielder Cammy Devlin is back. And, more crucially, captain and talismanic striker Lawrence Shankland is available again.
Sidelined since January with a hamstring injury, Shankland made his return from the bench in Saturday's narrow win over Dundee. Although the 30-year-old forward did not provide the decisive moment, his 36-minute cameo highlighted why his comeback is so important for Hearts' title charge. "Even in the small moments Shankland was involved in, you could see his link-up play," former Hearts head coach Steven Naismith said on BBC's Sportscene.
"His game intelligence was on show and I think that will be big in the coming weeks. " Shankland's relentless scoring form in recent seasons has often meant his link-up play goes under the radar. He misplaced just one of his 11 passes on Saturday and boasted 100% accuracy in the final third - seven out of seven completed - which allowed Hearts to sustain pressure before Oisin McEntee's winner.
Shankland also had more shots on goal than fellow forward Pierre Landry Kabore and found the target more often than Claudio Braga despite fewer minutes on the pitch. His influence also becomes clearer when dissecting Hearts' record with and without the striker this season. Their win rate plummets from 73% to 44%.