Maloney added: “Even looking ahead to the weekend, it’s a day-by-day situation. He was involved in preparations last night, but he wasn’t in today.”
“I’ll speak to him this afternoon, and he’ll decide about tomorrow. I’d expect he’ll also make the call for the weekend match.”
“If he’s back this weekend, fantastic. If not, we’ll plan accordingly.”
Maloney, who has previously managed Hibernian and Wigan, admitted it would feel unusual if he had to lead the team at Rugby Park.
“We’ll certainly miss him if he’s not there, but we have to respect what’s happened over the past few days,” he said.
“His impact since October has been incredible — the way he works with the players and staff has been outstanding.”
“So yes, we’ll miss him, but we’ll be ready. We have some excellent senior players. We’ll wait and let him decide.”
Maloney said he did not expect any new arrivals before Sunday — including the reported move for Oviedo’s Egyptian winger Haissem Hassan — and stressed those decisions are strictly between O’Neill and chief executive Michael Nicholson.
The former Scotland midfielder acknowledged interest in midfielder Arne Engels and right-back Alistair Johnston, but saw no reason to think they would not be in the squad to face Kilmarnock.