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Elie Youan impresses Hibs boss David Gray as winger could be unleashed against Rangers

Hibs wide man Elie Youan
-Credit: (Image: SNS Group)


David Gray hopes Hibs will now get to see the best of Elie Youan after the winger impressed during training.

The Frenchman was expected to leave Easter Road over the summer yet despite intense speculation surrounding his future, remained in Edinburgh. Youan, 25, has recently overcome an injury sustained in the Premier Sports Cup group stages but was left sickened after being racially abused by one of his own supporters on social media.

Youan has only made a handful of appearances so far and was hooked at half-time during his first start against St Johnstone. But David insists the attacker has caught the eye during the club's two-week break and hopes the £3million-rated star will be in a "better place" to face Rangers this weekend.

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Asked about his underwhelming display against Saints, Gray said: "I think you're right in what you say. That was his first game for a while. He wasn't probably at the level that he thinks he can be – or what we know he can be. And then we took him off at half time. It's been a long time out for him.

"He’s been good in training. He's someone that works hard. He's very driven to be the best he can be. You can see how good he is athletically. And I think In training ever since then he's been trying his best to try and put himself in a place to get in the team. He's been out for a long period of time.

"We played a bounce game during that break, which meant we could get more minutes for him, alongside a lot of other players. So he got some more minutes into the legs - and hopefully he'll be in a better place to be available for this weekend.

"I think confidence is one thing. When you've been out for a while you tend to be a little bit rusty as well. I think it's hard to get match fit without playing games. You can try and replicate in training as much as you can. But there's no other feeling or experience you can get to match going and playing the game.

"So the positive side for him is he's been back on the grass. He's played 45 minutes competitively, plus the bounce game. And now he's had an extra two weeks training fully with the group. So as I say the break has come at a good time for individuals as well."