Harry Milne and Christian Borchgrevink became the latest two players to join their absentee list during a damaging trip to Turkey for their 2-0 Conference League defeat by Trabzonspor on Thursday.

Milne suffered suspected anterior cruciate ligament damage at Papara Park the night before the game, while Borchgrevink pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring issue just before half-time.

Stuart Findlay and Oisin McEntee did not make the trip to Turkey due to muscle injuries, while Ageu, Blair Spittal, Tom Renaud and Craig Halkett were already sidelined.

When appointed as Derek McInnes’ successor in late June, Vrancken was perplexed to find that Hearts had only allowed themselves a little over three weeks to prepare for their first competitive game.

The Jambos returned for pre-season testing on June 25, with proper training beginning a few days later, ahead of their Champions League qualifier away to Sturm Graz on July 21, and the Belgian has no doubt that has prevented many of his players from being able to build the “foundation” required for the demands of a long season.

“When you have this run of games, you have to have the foundation,” Vrancken said as he reflected on his latest injury woes.

(Image: Neil Hanna / Shutterstock)

“We started already saying this from the Sturm Graz game. You put your foundation there in the preparation.

“When you have only three weeks of preparation, it’s not enough. Simple. It’s a lesson we as a club have to learn, that you cannot let it happen like this because you will take it through the season.”

Hearts had only one fully-fit central midfielder, Tomas Magnusson, available on Thursday while they are now down to the bare bones at both centre-back and full-back as they prepare for a huge week, with a trip to Motherwell on Sunday followed by a visit from Rangers on Wednesday and then a high-stakes Premier Sports Cup semi-final against city rivals Hibernian the following Sunday.

Forward Claudio Braga, who has managed to steer clear of injuries throughout his season and a bit at Tynecastle, expressed exasperation at the ongoing issues Hearts are facing.

“That’s the frustrating part to be honest, just so many injuries,” he said. “I don’t know why we keep (injuring) ourselves.

“I look at the group and it’s a lot of professional guys, it’s nothing about people not training (properly) or anything like that or doing what they want. It’s just bad luck and hopefully we can bounce back from that.

“We’re using players in completely different positions.”