Shaun Maloney not expecting Hibs injury crisis to ease ahead of Motherwell cup tie

Ten first-team players missed the goalless draw with St Johnstone on Saturday, with forward James Scott making a late recovery from illness to take a seat on the bench.

But Maloney can’t see any more of his sidelined players returning to action in North Lanarkshire. Currently he is without Harry Clarke, Paul Hanlon, Matt Macey, Kyle Magennis, Paul McGinn, Demi Mitchell, Chris Mueller, Joe Newell, Kevin Nisbet, and Rocky Bushiri, who serves the second match of the suspension he incurred when he was sent off in the midweek stalemate against Dundee at Dens Park.

Asked if his selection problems would ease, Maloney said: “Unfortunately not, but that’s okay. It is what it is. We go again.

"I’ll push them again and hopefully the performance will be more like we got in the first half against St Johnstone, but we have to add a real clinical edge and more creativity in the final third because it is a cup game and we are going to get a result on the day.”

Under-18s players Jacob Blaney, Oscar MacIntyre, and Josh O’Connor have been included in recent matchday squads to make up numbers and the youngsters could be called upon again to fill the bench at Fir Park.

"I think we’ll have ten out again and that is a lot, but I don’t want to keep using it because when you do that in football, you give other players the opportunity, particularly young players, and they have to go a grasp that. It is a sort of balance,” Maloney explained.

"I was really disappointed with the second half [against St Johnstone] but we took a point and have moved into fourth and that’s with me playing a team that has an average age of 21 or 22, so I have to try to keep a balance. I would rather all the pressure came on me.”