Hibernian captain Joe Newell back in the treatment room with new injury

Hibernian captain Joe Newell is facing a further spell on the sidelines after suffering a fresh injury setback.

The midfielder returned to the matchday squad as an unused substitute for Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Celtic after recovering from a groin issue that had kept him sidelined since the victory over Kilmarnock on December 29.

But manager David Gray revealed ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Dundee United that Newell is set for another lay-off.

“Unfortunately Joe picked up an additional injury, not actually a recurrence of his (previous) injury, which is going to probably keep him out for a couple of weeks,” he said.

“It is a big blow for Joe as well, he’s really frustrated with how hard he’s worked to try and get back in and go back into the matchday squad at the weekend, but unfortunately he’s picked up a bit of a niggle. That’s a bit of a blow.”

Hibs are looking to continue their rise up their William Hill Premiership table at Tannadice. Gray’s side were bottom when they suffered their last defeat against Celtic on December 7 but they have climbed to fifth on the back of a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions and can leapfrog fourth-placed United if they win on Wednesday.

“Dundee United away will be a real tough game, but if we win, we can go above them, so that is the focus for us, and that’s all that’s on our mind at the minute,” said Gray. “I’ve said for numerous weeks now that it’s always been about trying to catch the team in front of us.

“You think back to not so long ago, we were at the bottom of the league, and when you look at how tight the league is at the moment, and how it’s going to be right to the split, every point is going to be so important.

“If you can catch the team in front of you, it gives you a right chance, and that has been our mindset every week.”

Hibs have suffered late frustration in their previous two meetings with United. They surrendered a 2-1 lead in stoppage time and lost 3-2 on their last trip to Tannadice in October and then conceded a last-minute penalty equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Easter Road a few weeks later.

“The games we played against them previously, we’ve actually played quite well, but not got the results that we needed to get from them,” said Gray. “We are going up there in a much better place than we were previously, but we know it’s going to be a tough place to go.”