BY ALAN TEMPLE at Shielfield Park – Capital City Press
Hibernian head coach Alan Stubbs fears Danny Handling could be destined for a lengthy layoff after the versatile forward suffered a knee injury against Berwick Rangers last night.
Handling collapsed to the Shielfield Park turf in visible agony after just 19 minutes of the friendly in the Borders and was carried from the field on a stretcher to be replaced by Sam Stanton.
The 21-year-old will have the damage assessed in the next 24 hours, however Stubbs has confirmed that the initial prognosis is not positive – with just 10 days until the season curtain-raiser against Rangers in the Petrofac Training Cup.
Stubbs said: “It doesn’t look too good at the moment but we will probably know better once we assess it. There is every chance it is quite a serious one.
“It is difficult to give a full diagnosis at the moment but things will become clear in the next 24 hours.
“It was his knee. He felt something just before it – and then he went down in an incident soon after. I am disappointed for Danny and we can only hope that he gets a speedy recovery.”
Handling’s injury cast a shadow on an otherwise satisfactory evening in the Borders for Hibs, with goals from David Gray, Jason Cummings and the excellent Scott Allan securing a 3-0 triumph.
