Hearts winger Suso Santana has been ruled out for up to six weeks after undergoing hernia surgery.

Manager Csaba Laszlo revealed last week the 24-year-old was to go under the knife in a bid to prevent the problem deteriorating.

And despite being told he is unlikely to return until mid-December, Suso is hoping to be back before the end of the month.

He told Hearts News Today: "I had the problem for a little while and played a few matches with it and it was decided that an operation was the best thing to do.

"The doctors have told me I'm probably looking at six weeks but I want to get back before that. Hopefully, I can do it in four weeks as I want to get back into the team as quickly as possible."

Suso, who played in last weekend's 1-0 Clydesdale Bank Premier League defeat at Motherwell, will now miss out on a first Edinburgh derby, which takes place on Saturday.

He added: "It's disappointing to miss the derby this weekend but I hope the players can put the defeat to Motherwell behind them and get a good result in front of our own fans."

Suso joins vice-captain Marius Zaliukas on the sidelines, with Hearts today confirming he is continuing his rehabilitation from his troublesome ankle injury in his native Lithuania.

Defender Zaliukas has already been out for more than a month and, like Suso, is expected to return in mid-December.

There was good news on captain Michael Stewart and striker Christian Nade, both of whom are expected to be fit for Saturday's game.

Stewart (ankle) missed the defeat at Fir Park, while Nade was carried off on a stretcher shortly before the hour mark.