Burnley FC midfielder Kevin McDonald returns to Turf Moor

The Iron were weighing up whether to to extend his loan into a third month ahead of their game at Portsmouth being postponed on Saturday.

But the 22-year-old is back with Burnley, having made only five appearances for Ian Baraclough’s side, including three starts.

The Scotland Under 21 international scored once, netting a consolation goal against Cardiff at Glanford Park.

He was initially hindered with a back injury, and worked his way into the starting line-up, but was dropped to the bench for Scunthorpe’s last game, a 3-0 defeat at Millwall.

On Friday, Baraclough said: “It’s not something we’ve decided upon yet.

“I will sit down and have a chat with Kevin, and I will also speak with Brian Laws.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion either way whether he stays or goes.”

However, he will not extend his stay at Scunthorpe, and Brian Laws will have another body available to him over a crucial period of the season.

Laws insisted at the time he initially went out on loan that McDonald’s future at Turf Moor was very much in the player’s hands: “It’s down to Kevin.

“We all recognise what a talented player he is, he’s got all the tools in the box, he just sometimes doesn’t know the combination to get the tools out.

“It will click with him one day, and he’ll be a fabulous player.

“At the moment, we’re only seeing fragments of that, where he can be outstanding, but there’s a lot of parts of his game that he needs to improve on, and he knows that.

“We’ve talked about that, but the one thing he’s got is time on his side.

“He’s a young player, and if he gets his development right, there’s a player to be had, and we want him at Burnley Football Club.

“But he’s got to decide his future, it’s down to him.

“Let’s readdress it, if he goes out on loan, when he comes back, and have a look at it and see where we are before making any decisions about his career.

“Kevin’s a talented player.”

Centre back Leon Cort remains on loan at Preston until the transfer window reopens, with North End’s ga,e at Watford called off late on Saturday.

There were no games in League 2, where Kevin Long and Wes Fletcher were due to begin their third months with Accrington Stanley and Stockport County respectively.