DAVID OBUA faces a race to be available for Hearts' Euro tie - after his passport expired.
The Jambos fly out to Hungary this morning ahead of their clash with Paksi on Thursday night.But Ugandan Obua will instead jet to London in a desperate bid to sort out fresh documents.
It's thought management were only made aware of the administration error yesterday.
Now they face the real threat of having to make do without Saturday's goalscorer in their SPL draw with Rangers.
Boss Jim Jefferies said: "It is something we have to deal with and something that we are working on to resolve."Provided he can get things sorted he will be with us on Wednesday which won't be a disaster as he'll have missed just one training session."
But Obua faces a fight on two fronts to beat red tape. First he must get his passport renewed at the Ugandan Embassy.
Then he will have to make a dash across town for a visa to allow him entry into the country.
If that is all done in time then he will fly out tomorrow and train with his team-mates 24 hours before the first leg clash just outside Budapest.
And former Ujpest Dosza manager Willie McStay says the Jambos face a test even with all of their key players.
McStay knows plenty about the Hungarians from a spell there during season 2009/10.
And he reckons Hearts need only look at the performances of another Hungarian side, Debrecen, in the Champions League as proof there are no easy matches in Europe.
Paksi have won three out of four of their qualifying games, dumping Santa Coloma and Tromso.
And Karoly Kis's side will be confident despite a 4-0 hammering at the weekend in a league match against Fehervar.
McStay said: "If you look at the fact that Debrecen competed with the likes of Liverpool and Fiorentina not so long ago, you can see that Hungarian teams should not be underestimated.
"And Paksi have done surprisingly well to go from competing in the middle to bottom half of the league to qualifying for European football.
"They really have done fantastically well and, if you let them play, they can hurt you."
This week's tie will be switched from Paksi's 4,000 capacity Stadion PSE to the larger Sostoi Stadion, home of Videoton.
The fact it won't be at Paksi's smaller stadium is good news says McStay.
The Stockport assistant boss added: "Paksi's stadium is dreadful and it's a place nobody wants to go.
"Hearts will have an advantage at home, as they'll have the intensity of Tynecastle on their side."
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