total that season. Kyle was made Kilmarnock club captain for the 2009–10 season. He started where he left off by scoring twice in the opening day 3–0 home victory over Hamilton and his good form won him a recall to the Scotland squad after an absence of five years. In the Scottish League Cup game against Morton (in which he also scored) he suffered a knee injury, sidelining him for three weeks and causing him to miss the final two World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and the Netherlands on 5 and 10 September 2009. In January 2010, he relinquished the club captaincy following his involvement in the events that ultimately led to the departure of manager Jim Jefferies. Kyle became unhappy at Kilmarnock and went on trial with Russian side PFC Spartak Nalchik with a view to join them at the end of the season when his current deal expired but rejected a move. Whilst playing in a trial match there he picked up an injury, angering manager Calderwood as he missed key games for the club. Hearts Kyle signed a two-year contract with Hearts on 3 June 2010, which reunited him with Jim Jefferies, making his debut on 14 August 2010 against St Johnstone as a 66th-minute substitute. His first goal for the club came the following week against Hamilton in Hearts 4–0 win. He took over taking penalty kicks at the club and scored six goals out of six from the spot, plus another four from open play, in the 2010–11 season. He scored a late winner in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian on 1 January 2011. The remainder of his 2010–11 season was blighted by a hip injury, as Kyle made his last appearance of the season on 11 January. The injury continued to trouble Kyle in the 2011–12 season. After several setbacks Kyle admitted that he feared this could be the end of his footballing career. Kyle underwent a further operation on his hip in January 2012, but was released from his contract in March 2012. Rangers Kyle was initially invited back to train with Hearts during the 2012–13 pre-season however this fell through following the departure of manager Paulo Sérgio. He began training with Dunfermline and featured for them as a trialist during their pre-season friendlies. He then joined St Johnstone on trial. After revealing he would be open to a move to Rangers, Kyle