Hibs boss David Gray hopes Jake Doyle-Hayes’ injury problems are behind him

David Gray hopes Jake Doyle-Hayes has put “a difficult time” behind him after the Hibernian midfielder made his first appearance in 14 months against Hearts on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Irishman, who had not previously featured in a competitive game since the 5-0 Conference League defeat at home to Aston Villa in August last year, came off the bench in the 83rd minute of the Edinburgh derby draw.

Doyle-Hayes has been plagued by a string of complications and setbacks following ankle surgery, but Gray was delighted to see him back on the pitch.

“It’s excellent for him,” said the Hibs manager. “He deserves it for how hard he’s trained. It’s been a difficult time for him, frustration with injuries and challenges that we’ve had, but he’s worked hard to get back in there.

“It’s good to see him back on the pitch, obviously, and then the magnitude of the game and everything else just shows you that I had no concerns about him coming on just because of the type of player he is, his temperament and the quality he’s got which he’s been showing in training recently, which is good.”

Hibs have been treading carefully with Doyle-Hayes but Gray is confident he is now ready for action.

“Yes, he’s fully recovered and as I say, he’s in a good place at the moment,” he said. “He’s working hard, doing all the things he needs to do and he’s available for selection, which is good.

“He’s obviously not fully match-fit because he’s not had the game time in his legs but he’s obviously been back training for a while now and building on that fitness.”

Gray had no worries about pitching Doyle-Hayes back into action amid the tension of an Edinburgh derby.

“He’s played in these games before, he’s that type of character, he doesn’t get fazed by occasions,” said the manager. “He’s got quality on the ball and he’s been training well so I’ve got no concerns over Jake at all.

“With the quality he’s got, how well he’s trained and his attitude every single day, I think he’s someone that – as well as the players we’ve already got in the middle of the pitch – adds real strength and depth and quality and competition for places.

“He’s going to work as hard as he can to try and get in the team because there is a lot of competition in there as well.”

Gray hopes to have Nicky Cadden back from injury for Wednesday’s William Hill Premiership trip to Ross County.