Kilmarnock will be 'smart' with midfielder's return from year-long injury with caution, says Derek McInnes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Kilmarnock gaffer Derek McInnes admits they’ll have to play it ‘smart’ with Kyle Magennis after his return from a year on the sidelines.The midfielder penned a three-year deal with the club at the start of last season and immediately shone before a niggling injury in September saw him ruled out for three months.Unfortunately, his return lasted only two minutes as he was forced off in a clash away at Livingston in December.Having initially looked at a return a couple of months ago, the 26-year-old finally made it back on the pitch in their recent 1-1 draw at Dundee United.And McInnes, who confessed he tried to sign Magennis while manager at Aberdeen, insists the club will do everything possible to ensure he remains injury-free.Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday's home clash with Hearts, he said: “I’ve watched Kyle since he was a wee boy.

He played in the same youth team as my son and I always knew his qualities. When he broke into St Mirren’s first team it was no real surprise to me and he was always a player that I watched closely.“I had an interest in him when I was at Aberdeen and if the circumstances had been right it would have been one I would have liked to have taken.“He got his move to Hibs after a bad injury at St Mirren and unfortunately for him he’s just not really been able to get that run of staying fit.

With the greatest respect, the reason we managed to get him to Kilmarnock is because of his injuries.”He added: “We took a bit of a risk and up until now you would have to say that it’s not been justified, the signing of him.

But last season, the first 12 games or so, he was arguably as good a player as we had in the team and he played week in, week out, so we’ve seen wee signs of it.“We’re trying to