Hibs rule out injured Kevin McBride against St Johnstone

McBride crumpled in a heap with no-one near him as he took possession of the ball, his fall allowing Rangers striker Kenny Miller to complete a 3-0 victory.

McBride will be sent for a scan today with the early diagnosis being a groin injury but Hughes admitted he's already expecting the player to miss both Wednesday and Saturday's games.

He said: "Kevin turned, slipped and seems to have opened up his groin. He's usually a quick healer but I'd say he's definitely out of the next two matches."

Although he had no complaints at the final outcome, Hughes argued Miller's injury time strike had put an unfair reflection on proceedings as he praised the efforts of his players in what Rangers boss Walter Smith described as "an excellent advert for Scottish football."

Smith conceded his side were lucky to be level at half-time, Sasa Papac taking a Paul Hanlon header off his own line before ex-Hibee Steven Whittaker broke the deadlock six minutes after the interval with Kris Boyd converting a penalty ahead of Miller's late strike. Hughes said: "Walter told me after the match he felt whoever got the first goal would be on the front foot and he was right.

"I was proud of my players, the way they took the game to Rangers. We were on top, working hard, Merouane Zemmama was on form, Abdessalam Benjelloun was causing problems in the hole and we were comfortable. To be honest, I didn't want half-time to come. However, we were always aware of the threat Rangers possess and it was disappointing to lose a goal so early in the second half."

Meanwhile, Hibs Under-19 side relinquished their grip on the SFA Youth Cup with Kyle Jacobs' goal enough to give Livingston victory in their quarter-final clash.