Hearts injury latest on Toby Sibbick, Aaron Hickey, and Donis Avdijaj ahead of Falkirk Scottish Cup tie

Donis Avdijaj is nursing an ankle problem

A combination of illness and injuries mean Hearts will still be without Toby Sibbick, Aaron Hickey and Donis Avdijaj for their Scottish Cup tie at Falkirk. However, Michael Smith is fit to return and Ben Garuccio may feature.

Sibbick is unwell and has been confined to his bed since Tuesday, Hickey is still recovering from a groin issue, while Avdijaj has an ankle injury and is resting.

The versatile Smith adds his experience to the squad after missing four matches with his own groin problem. He has not featured since the 5-0 victory over Airdrie in the previous round.

Garuccio was rested recently having made three appearances since returning from eight months out with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Manager Daniel Stendel wants a response to Wednesday's 3-2 home defeat by Kilmarnock. He intends to select his strongest available team at Falkirk and has no intention of resting anyone against League One opposition.

"Do you have the feeling we can do that? No. We want to play with the best players and we want too win," he said. "We don’t play league games at the same time as the cup. So we’re looking for the best team and we want to win. That’s the ambition in every game.

"It’s another chance to give ourselves the confidence back, especially after Wednesday. We’ll use that chance.

"Ben has trained but the feeling was that after his first games I maybe pushed him too much. He hadn't played for seven or eight months then played two games for near enough 90 minutes. In our situation, under that pressure, that was maybe a bit too much. But he has trained and we'll see what happens together.

"Avdijaj has an ankle injury. He cannot train at the moment. We expect a lot from him and he can help us. The medical team say it's better for him to have a rest just now.

"Sibbick has been in his bed since Tuesday and I can't believe that can change in 24 hours. I hope maybe Michael Smith comes back for the game and I hope Hickey is back soon."

Stendel will consult his goalkeeping coach, Paul Gallacher, before deciding whether to persevere with Joel Pereira in goal this evening. The Manchester United loanee was criticised for conceding soft goals in recent weeks.

Asked if he will change goalkeeper, Stendel replied: "Normally I'd do it in the cup. It's a special situation at the moment, though. I think we'll decide together with Paul Gallacher. He knows the goalkeepers better than me. He trains with them every day and we'll make the decision together.

"It's a little bit too easy to say it's the goalkeeper's fault. Yeah, when he makes a mistake, everyone can see it in the stadium, but in a lot of games before he played very well. We would like that he didn't make mistakes but at the moment.

"You can see sometimes when you ask about the style or being too open, we lost the first goal [against Kilmarnock] from a corner. You're not open form a corner.

"The third goal is a shot from the edge of the box, not a counter. Some circumstances came together but we need to show we are stronger than what's coming from outside. At the moment it's hard to accept some easy mistakes."

Research on Falkirk has told Stendel to expect a difficult night. He knows the underdogs have nothing to lose in front of the BBC Scotland cameras.

"We analysed their recent games, which is normal. We expect it to be similar to the last two games. We can hopefully show that we’ve learned and understand what happened.

"It’s a cup game but, for Falkirk, it’s a big chance. They will fight and it won't be easy. It's what we expect from a lot of games in the league."