Barry Robson has backed Finlay Pollock to bounce back stronger from injury after claiming Raith Rovers turned the Hearts boy into a man.
The 20-year-old suffered a hamstring problem in the 1-0 win over Ayr United 11 days ago.
The pacy forward was carried off on a stretcher and sent for scans amidst fears over the severity of the injury.
Parent club Hearts confirmed last week that the Scotland U/21 cap had returned to them for further treatment and assessment.
However, Robson is convinced the youngster, who suffered two injury-afflicted campaigns before moving to Raith at the start of the season, has proven he is made of stern stuff.
“Of course we’re disappointed about Finlay,” said Robson, who has backed Lewis Vaughan to step into the breach. “But, listen, the one thing I know is he is a young, fit, hungry kid and this will not deter him.
“It’s an injury that he’ll come back from perfectly fine.
“What he needs to look at or think about is, right, how do I come back stronger?’ How do I use this time to bulk up other parts of my body and improve myself?
Robson: ‘This will make him stronger’
“And he’ll do that because he’s a really willing kid.
“I don’t want to be too doom and gloom for Finlay because this is part and parcel of football.
“And this will make him stronger and, never to worry, this is not going to hinder him for the rest of his career. He’s going to go on and have a great career.”
The one positive to come out of Pollock’s return to Hearts is Robson is confident the attacker has gone back to Tynecastle a better player.
Arriving in Kirkcaldy as a winger in September, he performed impressively in a more central role under Robson due to a string of injuries and left with six goals in 25 appearances.
Robson believes Pollock now has more strings to his bow than when he arrived.
“It’s just frustrating because he was playing so well for us,” added the Rovers boss in conversation with Courier Sport. “I’m just gutted for him because I have so much time for him as a boy.
“The energy and the work that he put in for me and the club was brilliant. And I think he’ll have found that working with us has massively improved him.
“We’ve tried to grow him into a man and we’ve taught him how to press properly and how to make runs in behind, because that’s his strength. Technically, we’ve tried to help him.
“Hearts have been brilliant as well. Listen, they trusted us with the player and I’d like to think that they’re happy with how we developed him.”
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