Source: FOOTYMAD
Hooper on his way back
Gary Hooper will be pleased he managed to cope with 90 minutes of action Striker Gary Hooper continued on the comeback trail from injury by scoring in a closed-doors game against Motherwell yesterday. Hooper has yet to make his SPL debut after tearing a calf muscle during a pre-season friendly against Blackburn. But the 22-year-old returned to training last week and stepped up his recovery by playing in a 6-1 victory over a Motherwell XI at Lennoxtown. The £2million summer signing from Scunthorpe will now push for a place in the squad for Sunday's SPL game at Kilmarnock. Niall McGinn also returned to action following a lengthy lay-off from a broken metatarsal, an injury he suffered during the club's final training session of last season. Coach Danny McGrain said: "It was a great run-out for some of the fringe players like Charlie Mulgrew, Mark Wilson and Marc Crosas, who all did well. Niall McGinn lasted an hour and was very tired but he's been out a while and it won't do him any harm. We have a game next week and he will play in that too. He could train all week but it's just games he needs now. Gary Hooper did well too. He was a bit tired and sore but he got 90 minutes under his belt, which was great."
