David Gray has clarified Elie Youan’s omission from Hibs’ decisive win over Elgin City.
The attacker has been the subject of bids this summer from Ligue 1 clubs, but their asking price has not yet been met. Some fans speculated that the Frenchman might be leaving after he was not named in the squad for the Premier Sports Cup tie. However, head coach Gray explained that an illness kept him out of the action.
The boss, whose side won comfortably 5-0 at Borough Briggs, also detailed the injury sustained by Chris Cadden during the game, with the defender not long back from long-term problems.
“He (Youan) came in yesterday feeling poorly,” Gray revealed. “So it was just the fact he’d be sitting on a bus, and with the way he’s feeling at the moment, we didn’t want to put the rest of the squad at risk knowing what it was. He’s got an illness, but hopefully, it’s just a minor thing, 24 hours or however long these things can take. He spoke to the doctor this morning, and we’ll monitor that situation and see how he’s feeling. Hopefully, he’s feeling better as soon as he can.”
On Cadden, Gray added: “It’s always a concern when players come off. The positive side is that it’s an experienced player who’s put his hand up, he knows his body. He felt tightness in his thigh, hopefully he’s felt it early enough and not pushed it too far, which would be great rather than playing through and making it worse. Hopefully, we’ve managed to get him off as quickly as we can. But until we investigate it further, we’ll have no idea exactly what it is. It’s tightness in his thigh, and we’ll have to monitor the situation.”
Dylan Vente hit a hat-trick while goals from Marvin Ekpiteta and Martin Boyle sealed the rout. The boss was chuffed for striker Vente, who’s had a stuttering start to his career at Easter Road.
“I’m pleased for Dylan – strikers love scoring goals and there’s no better feeling than getting a hat-trick, and to do that on day one should give him all the confidence in the world to move forward. Hopefully, we can keep getting the best out of him.”