Harry Clarke has picked up a hamstring injury before making his debut for Hibernian FC on loan, and he’s now set to miss a few weeks.

Harry Clarke signing for Hibernian FC (Photo via HibernianFC.co.uk)
Harry Clarke signing for Hibernian FC (Photo via HibernianFC.co.uk)

Following reports that Harry Clarke had picked up a hamstring injury, the player himself confirmed the news of his absence with a post on Twitter.

“Not the way I wanted to start my Hibs career but I’ll be back soon,” Clarke wrote on Twitter. “All the best to the boys for the next few weeks.”

The Scottish Daily Express report Clarke is facing up to six weeks out.

It’s a real shame, given the same outlet report that Clarke was set to make his debut for Hibs on Monday, and he’s seen as pivotal to Shaun Maloney’s plans. But he’ll now need some time to recover.

Recent reports suggest Rangers made an approach to sign Clarke on a permanent basis from Arsenal in the January transfer window, before he moved to Hibs on an 18-month loan.

Arsenal flat out rejected the offer, preferring to loan Clarke out to the Edinburgh side with a couple of early recall clauses this summer and next January – if required.

Harry Clarke signing for Hibernian FC (Photo via HibernianFC.co.uk)
Harry Clarke signing for Hibernian FC (Photo via HibernianFC.co.uk)

Arsenal initially recalled Clarke early from his season-long spell at Ross County this month, with all the reports at the time that they planned to send him back out to Hibs.

Arsenal and Hibs later confirmed the rather unusual 18-month loan, which did help to make sense of the initial recall from Ross County.

Though there were some marginal benefits to joining a club higher up in the table, it did seem a bit odd to disrupt Clarke’s loan to Ross County only to send him to another club in the same division.

But now we know Clarke has effectively sorted next season before the summer even comes around. In the meantime, he’s also at a team fighting closer to the top of the pile this campaign.