Motherwell set for Everton friendly test at Goodison Park as a major injury blow confirmed after league opener

Stuart Kettlewell has confirmed more Motherwell injury blows - with Sam Nicholson facing an extended spell out.

The playmaker arrived initially last season from Colorado Rapids before signing on again for this campaign. He has not featured in the League Cup group stage matches and was missing in the 0-0 Premiership opener with Ross County.

Zach Robinson, Moses Ebiye and Ewan Wilson all had good chances but couldn’t convert, with Rangers up next away from home. Boss Kettlewell has confirmed that Nicholson is out for a ‘sustained’ period while Filip Stuparevic missed the match with a hamstring problem.

He said: “Yeah, another injury, hamstring. He's got another injury. He pulled up the other day so that was the only reason that he wasn’t involved today. Sam Nicholson's a real blow last night. After a scan it looks as if he's going to be out for a sustained period of time as well.

“We're going to have to be creative in team selections to make sure that we've got options in the front end of the park. And as I say again, I'm actively looking to see if we can bring in some fresh blood as well to give us more options at the top end of the park because we know it's a long season and we know that we need options and we need to cover what has been another spate of injuries for us.

“It's a problem with his patella tendon, his knee. We'll obviously give a wee bit more information as we move forward but we're still to get more clarity on what the next steps are. But it's a problem with his patella tendon. We almost had him back on the pitch and then there was a setback as such. There's been a scan. We've had the information back from the scan but the recovery process and the steps that need to be taken are still not 100% clear.”

Meanwhile, Kettlewell confirmed that Motherwell are set to face Everton in a bounce match at Goodison Park this midweek. He said: “We've got a bounce game on Tuesday. We go down to play a closed door game against Everton at Goodison Park on Tuesday.

“So that overnight stay, playing against the top, top level side will be a brilliant test for us as well in their build up to the season starting. But I've got a whole host of guys there that are desperate for minutes as well. So I think as much as trying to improve what we've done today, it starts to strengthen that squad with more minutes into the players and the challenges that will face them.”

On the game, Kettlewell added: “There wasn't a whole host of chances but the best chances certainly went to us today. The goalkeeper that made the most stops was theirs. I felt we had one or two opportunities squandered as well, not even by working their goalkeeper but some of the areas that we got into. I thought we showed a decent degree of energy.

“I thought we showed some real good body language which I was moaning and whining about last week because I felt it could be so much better for us. All that said, without being negative, we know that we have to play better as well. We know we have to be more creative in the final third. We know we need to take more risks at times in the game.

“I probably speak about that last five, ten minutes of the game where I felt that we could probably take a little bit more risk and go and ask one or two more questions. But listen, it obviously is early in the season. We want to get up to speed as quick as we can. But the big positive for me was we were certainly better than we were last weekend.

“We did create opportunities. We did ask a question of them. I think we've probably all sat in here and agreed that we should have won the game. I'm not celebrating that fact but that shows a step to recovery from where I felt we were last week which was poor. I genuinely believe that we will get better through time as well.”