Falkirk boss Ray McKinnon has no hard feelings over losing on-loan Rangers striker to Scotland duty

It left Ray McKinnon light in attacking options with his fellow forward Deimantas Petravicius in action for Lithuania against Romania in the UEFA Nations League.

But the Bairns boss was accepting of the call-ups, despite having an approach to bring {https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/football-fixtures-results?pstr=player&coid=&teid=208&plid=270251| Rudden| Player stats} back for the game against Gary Caldwell’s side, rejected.

While Falkirk were earning a valuable point in their quest for SPFL Championship survival, Rudden was not used for Saturday’s game against San Marino, but did feature last week in a 2-1 win over Wales for Billy Stark’s team.

At his weekly press conference today, McKinnon said: “Demi will play tonight for Lithuania and {https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/football-fixtures-results?pstr=player&coid=&teid=208&plid=270251| Zak| Player stats} is playing today for Scotland against Sweden.

“We asked the question about Zak but he is away with Scotland and it’s good for him. We would have liked him here but we accepted it and look forward to seeing him back here on Thursday.

“We are hoping that both Demi and {https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/football-fixtures-results?pstr=player&coid=&teid=208&plid=270251| Zak| Player stats} come back from there internationals unscathed and we will wrap them in cotton wool ahead of Saturday.”

The Bairns meet local rivals Stenhousemuir in the third round of the Scottish Cup.