Boss disappointed by West Ham transfer call to bring player back to Hammers as Motherwell face injury dismay

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell has revealed the extensive list of growing injury concerns hitting the club - as he expressed disappointment in his West Ham United loanee’s exit.

The Fir Park club have been battling serious injuries for the entirety of the Premiership season but has been rocked for months. Captain Paul McGinn is poised to miss the rest of the season with thigh surgery, left-back Steve Seddon is out for two months with an ankle problem, goalkeeper Aston Oxborough is out for three months amid a thumb injury and striker Zach Robinson was already missing for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury. Ross Callachan has also missed most of the campaign and Hibs loanee Jair Tavares has picked up a problem.

That’s not including Lennon Miller still being in a boot after a foot injury, Liam Gordon going through concussion protocols plus recent blows to Harry Paton and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos. Callum Slattery and Sam Nicholson are amongst others trying to work back to full match sharpness.

Speaking ahead of the Scottish Cup tie with St Johnstone this weekend, amid the January transfer window, Kettlewell said: “We'll support Paul the best way we possibly can. And the medical guys have got that process well up and running to try and start his recovery as quick as we possibly can. But I think by the information that's been put out there, I think we'll all understand that that looks like season over for Paul, which is really disappointing.

“From a personal point of view I feel he's been one of the, if not the, most consistent players since I came to the football club a couple of years ago. He's made captain. He's just a big influence in everything that we do, on and off the pitch. So, obvious disappointment, obvious blow for us.

“We've obviously encountered a lot of issues since the start of the season. But I would feel that in terms of injuries, that this is possibly the worst stage that we're at. We're looking at a couple of months for Steve Seddon. He had further investigation and the fallout from that is that we're probably looking at two months for him. Aston Oxborough, further consultation on that. Looks like we'll be without him for what looks like could be three months.

“So obviously these are massive blows to us. Add Paul McGinn into that. We hope that Lennon Miller gets his boot off next week. But again, we need to wait and see how that goes. Jair Tavares has been for further investigation. He sustained an injury in the last week. Liam Gordon is currently following concussion protocol which the medical guys are well on top of. He's feeling better. Ross Callachan's back on the pitch, but Ross hasn't played really. I think he had a few minutes against Ross County.

“So we need to wait and see where that goes. And I think last check, looking at the board the other day. We were looking at nine pretty serious injuries and nine players that were without. That's hard for us to absorb. Of course it is. You're looking at a lot of significant players. And some players that have been very good for us. Some for a long period of time. Some since they come to the football club. So it's not an excuse.”

“I've spoken to Brian Caldwell, the Chief Executive. What we want to try and do is try and make sure that we've got options. I'm sure you'll see with some of the names that we're talking about there and some of the people that are missing, that it's a huge loss. I'm watching one or two clubs out there paying fees for players and have significantly bigger resources than what we do. If we can try and be cute and clever and pick off one or two players that we think can help us along the way that can sort of step in the obvious voids that we start to see, then that's what we'll try and do. But this is really difficult. It's difficult for a lot of clubs.

“Essentially what happens with clubs like Motherwell and it did for us last January as well, is we need to wait for so many things to happen at potentially bigger clubs before anything starts to move. And only at that point, because you don't have hundreds of thousands or even millions to start throwing at players which will make a decision quicker, then you have to be dependent on other clubs and other things shifting there. We'll have to be patient. We're trying our best. We're working endlessly to try and make sure that we can strengthen the group and help the group out.”

Oxborough’s injury turning long-term further complicates the goalkeeping department. Krisztian Hegyi was recalled by West Ham United last week with Archie Mair arriving from Norwich City, while Kettlewell is keen for academy stopper prospect Matthew Connelly to continue his development at East Kilbride on loan. Action for the K-Park side in the Scottish Cup means he is ineligible for McDiarmid Park.

On the West Ham recall Mair and Connelly, Kettlewell said: “It's not perfect. Obviously losing Krystian last week, which we're really disappointed in how that came about. And then the feedback that we've had from Aston, delighted to get Archie in.

“Delighted with his mentality as well. Because even at that point, he wasn't 100%, we weren't 100% sure how long Aston would be out for, or even whether he would have been out last weekend. And he jumped in with both feet. He was desperate to get up here. He was desperate to put himself into this environment and get an opportunity to play at this level. I've been delighted with him so far.

“Then I think what it does is it becomes pretty evident that we need to try and get another in. Matty sat on the bench for us. He's cup tied this weekend. He's played for East Kilbride and we've been big in trying to develop Matty as well. I'm desperate for him to continue playing games and not sit on a bench. So we're actively working really, really hard to try and see if we can improve that department.”