Cash-strapped Hearts of Midlothian are set for a £1million hand-out as Craig Gordon gets set to return to the Sunderland line-up.

The 29-year old goalkeeper, who has been sidelined for 11 months with knee problems, needs just six more Premier League appearances to trigger the payment to be received by Hearts and according to Black Cats boss Martin O'Neill, his return will occur sooner rather than later.

"I don't think that becomes an issue. There are no impediments there to prevent him playing and I'm pleased about that," he said.

"We know he's a quality keeper and we want to give him every support to help him successfully comeback.

"I was an admirer of Craig's when I was at Aston Villa and we made a bid for him but Sunderland outbid us."

And O'Neill added that Gordon would more than likely be offered a new deal as his current one has six months left to run.

"It's important to make clear that no one is shoving him out of the door. It would be ridiculous to do that with a top-quality keeper, so we'll see. No one's rushing into anything just yet," he added.

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