HEARTS midfielder Arnaud Djoum's season is over after it was confirmed he snapped his Achilles tendon during his side's 1-1 draw at Ross County.
The midfielder was taken off midway through the first half when he appeared to fall to the ground unchallenged.
Hearts manager Craig Levein said it was a devastating blow to the club as he had been performing well in recent games.
"I am really disappointed as Arnaud was taken off after he snapped his Achilles tendon and will be out for seven to eight months," said Levein.
"He has been a real important player for us and he was just getting back to his best.
"He is now receiving treatment, he is really disappointed.
"But the older you are in these situations you can handle them slightly better than when you are younger."
Levein said he was unhappy that his team did not show the killer instinct after taking the lead thanks to a Kyle Lafferty free-kick. The Staggies rescued a point with a Jason Naismith strike with 14 minutes remaining.
Levein said: "If we got a second we would have won the game, I am convinced of that.
"But Ross County were adventurous and that was showed when their full-back Naismith goes and scores the equaliser."
Owen Coyle felt his team showed enough to pick up all three points but was happy to settle for a point as they closed the gap on Hamilton to two points.
"We looked comfortable at half time but if I'm being honest Hearts started the second half better than we did," said Coyle.
"It was a disappointing goal to concede as I think Harry Souttar must have been blinded by the sun which led to Liam Fontaine's foul.
"Kyle Lafferty had a fantastic free-kick and it was a great finish.
"But I thought that the players' reaction was terrific. Davis Keillor-Dunn should have hit the target to make it 1-1, but I thought he had a terrific game and he is a great talent we have."
Coyle said he was happy with the team's performance following their 4-1 win over Dundee two weeks ago and is convinced they have the quality to stay in the top flight next season.
He said: "A point was the minimum we deserved but I thought that we were worth three.
"It has been two good performances back to back and the important time of the year to play well is at the business end of the season.
"We look like we're a team that can go and win points and bring the club to safety."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here