Bobby Williamson, the former manager of Hibernian, might have inadvertently given Hearts an Edinburgh derby boost after leaving David Obua out of his Uganda squad.

The left-sided playmaker has not been involved in competitive action since his country's World Cup qualifying match defeat to Niger on September 7 and has now been omitted from the squad to face Benin.

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo blamed the amount of time Obua spent travelling to and from Africa for the muscle injury he sustained and also claimed that Obua had to pay for the flights out of his own pocket.

Obua will work on his recovery with the Hearts medical team alongside winger Andy Driver, who has been plagued with a niggling ankle knock, with the aim of both being fit in time to face Hibernian on October 19.

Laszlo, who saw his side beaten for the second successive time at home to Kilmarnock on Saturday, said: "I am happy we have a two-week break, definitely. I hope I get back players like David Obua and Andy Driver.

"We can work on better fitness for Bruno Aguiar and Mike Tullberg. He doesn't have fitness for 90 minutes, neither does Christian Nade at the moment. We will try during these two weeks to get more physical preparation for these players."

After an impressive start, Hearts' season has been derailed by the recent set-backs and Laszlo is hoping the players can make amends at Easter Road.

He added: "We must go back in the past and take the power from the past. This team needs protected and we need the help of our supporters.

"We lost the game on Saturday, but we must bring the stability back. That must happen against Hibernian now."

Hibs defender Chris Hogg is expected to be passed fit for the derby after having been sidelined with the after-effects of concussion he sustained six weeks ago.

The 23-year-old missed the 2-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday after succumbing to the severe headaches and blurred vision which have affected his game in recent weeks.

The Easter Road vice-captain sustained concussion in the 4-3 Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat to Morton on August 26, after being a victim of what manager Mixu Paatelainen afterwards described as an "assault" from opponent Erik Paartalu.

Hogg had played every game since that night but was forced at the weekend finally to give in to the migraines and eyesight problems that have contributed to some below-par performances in recent weeks.

Doctors have now prescribed a 10-day period of rest for the former Ipswich Town youngster, with Paatelainen hopeful he will be able to return for the meeting with Hearts.

Paatelainen said: "It's a little bit strong to describe it as a problem with his eyesight, it's not really an eyesight problem.

"Chris got the concussion against Morton and he's been having headaches and some difficulties seeing clearly, stuff like that, since then.

"It's basically been very, very strong headaches and, like with migraines, the blurry vision comes with it.

"He told me he felt it would gradually fade away, but it hasn't, and it has started to affect his performances.

"In some matches, like the Rangers game which was played on a really bright day, he wasn't able to judge the flight of the ball in the air properly.

"He didn't want to let himself or his team-mates down, so he wasn't included against Aberdeen.

"It is common after a concussion and it's nothing that is surprising the doctors. They have said he should relax and take it easy for 10 days or so and hopefully that will do the trick.

"We'll get him checked out again, but he could well be back for the Hearts game."

Meanwhile, Paatelainen is hopeful of seeing trialist keeper Khalid Sinouh in action in a closed-door friendly against Livingston this week, despite the first division team announcing that the fixture on Thursday had been cancelled.