David Gray has confirmed that Hibs forward Kieron Bowie did require surgery on his hamstring injury, with the operation 'going as well as it can'.

The head coach says the 21-year-old is now fully focused on working his way back to full fitness. Bowie, a £700,000 summer signing from Fulham, was ruled out for four months from September after breaking down while representing Scotland under-21s.

The injury was a recurrence of an issue that the former Raith Rovers youth had already battled this year, with Hibs sending him to a 'top hamstring specialist' in a bid to ensure the best possible care. Gray is confident Bowie has the drive and determination to get back on the pitch as quickly as he can, but stressed the club will take no chances with his recovery.

"He went to see the top hamstring specialist and that was the feedback, everything's gone as well as it can," said Gray. “So the focus now is on working to get fit. We’ve got great facilities here and he’ll be working hard every day. The biggest thing I think whenever a player's injured, especially longer term is the character of the person and the drive to want to get back as quickly as they can. And I think he's definitely got that, you can see the way he plays.

"He's just desperate to get back on the grass again so he'll do everything he can to get back as quick as he can. But we need to make sure we do that safely as well.”

Bowie's injury was a significant setback, both for the player and Hibs. Gray best summed up his start to life at Easter Road as 'like a house on fire', and the striker's absence was certainly felt at the weekend as his team-mates spurned a string of opportunities in going down 2-1 to Motherwell. Bowie watched from the stands on crutches, and such days must present a real psychological test for him as he works through an undoubtedly gruelling rehabilitation. 

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But Gray feels secure in saying that Bowie will allow himself to wallow in the disappointment, insisting he has the positive attitude required to tough out the recovery period. And the Hibs head coach also expects the rest of his to provide ongoing support for their young team-mate.

"It's disappointing for him because he's worked so hard to get himself back to that level," said Gray. “Having been out and missed a bit of pre-season, he started here like a house on fire as well, so he's desperate to come home and do well. It's frustrating for him. But he's another one who's a positive character; he looks at the positives from it.

“The positives are that, because it's a sort of reoccurrence on the injury and he’s now had the op, he can put that behind him now and think: ‘Well that's it sorted now, let's push forward.’ Every day he comes in and works as hard as he can to make sure he's one day closer to being back to his best. That's his attitude, which is great to have. He’s also someone that the rest of the group need to get around as well because he is still a young boy and we need to make sure we give him all the help we can."