Frankie Kent explains why he was fearing the worst as Hearts enter a critical period

"It's been four weeks since it happened. The timing of the break helped me out so I only missed three games overall. It's the first time in a while I've been injured and it was gutting, but it's nice to be back in the training routine."

Frankie Kent is a picture of relief as he sits chatting inside Hearts' Riccarton training ground. A knee injury sustained against Hibs last month left him and the club's supporters in a state of panic when he appeared on crutches afterwards. He is grateful there was no long-term damage as he prepares to return to action against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Positive results in the next three league games could leave Hearts poised to secure third place in the Premiership after the split. There is also a Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers to contend with. The proverbial business end of the season is no time to be getting injured.

"I got my scan the day after it happened and I was waiting for the results on the Friday," Kent recalls in an exclusive Edinburgh News interview. "During that time I was just waiting for Friday morning. In my head, I'm thinking: 'Please don't be bad.' Thankfully, the results were good so it was just a waiting game to let it heal as soon as possible, then get back out on the grass.

"These [upcoming games] were the things going through my mind. We had gone so far already and I didn't then want to miss the good part and the business end of the season. Touch wood, hopefully I can stay fit until the end of the season and have a good climax."

Hearts are 11 points ahead of fourth-placed Kilmarnock ahead of tomorrow's meeting. They hold a 13-point advantage over St Mirren and will travel to Paisley next weekend before hosting bottom-of-the-table Livingston in the final pre-split fixture.

"It's a bit of a weird one in terms of what we've got. We know we have points in the bag in terms of the gap between us and what is below us," says Kent. "We are now playing the teams directly below us in the next couple of games and that's good. It's something to enjoy and thrive on. We know that, if the games go well and we do our jobs properly, the outcome and the reward is there."

The 28-year-old can call upon previous experience of intense late-season pressure from his time at Peterborough United. "We were going for play-offs last season and there was the promotion season. I was used to teams being on our tails," he explains. "We had a points gap but you are thinking the other teams are going to win their games. Luckily enough, I've been in this situation before. I just think to focus on yourself, do as well as you can, and everything else will sort itself out.

"New experiences up here have helped me, dealing with different situations, the crowd, the pressure of the team and all that stuff. It has all enhanced me personally. Europe is a massive thing and something to really look forward to but we know we have to get through the next load of games first to put ourselves in a good position."

Hearts will be guaranteed European group-stage football for the second time in three seasons provided they finish third and Aberdeen do not win the Scottish Cup. Dealing with Kilmarnock represents enough of a challenge for now. Manager Derek McInnes has the Ayrshire side punching above their weight this season based on budgets, his experience and expertise again proving critics wrong.

"You can see how Kilmarnock play and how well they have been doing. They are a tough team," says Kent, who featured in Hearts' two wins and a draw against McInnes' team. "We played them three times already this season and done quite well against them, but every game is different. We need to make sure we are on our game. They are going to be coming off a high from their last result [beating St Mirren 5-2] and they have good players. Full respect to them, but we have our gameplan and what we want to do as well."

That gameplan involves an attacking, high-tempo start to inspire the Tynecastle support. "Yeah, 100 per cent. That's what we have tried to do for most of the season. Hopefully that can happen on Saturday and hopefully I'm involved."

Frankie Kent explains why he was fearing the worst - and how Hearts will tackle a season-defining period