Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell hopes to get defender Stephen O’Donnell back “sometime in December” but can’t put a time-scale on his recovery.
The vice-captain pulled up with a hamstring injury during the 2-1 midweek at Dundee United, and was replaced as captain by Lennon Miller for the Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat against Rangers, in the absence of Paul McGinn.
Kettlewell says they will try to get the former Scotland and Kilmarnock stopper back as soon as they can, but only when he’s ready, and there is an able deputy in Marvin Kaleta, who is likely to resume his place for the game against St Johnstone on Saturday.
Johnny Koutroumbis and Harry Paton are also on their road back, but need games.
Kettlewell said: “Stephen is going to be out for a period of time and I can’t put an exact date on that, but what I would give you at this stage is that we’re aiming to try and get him back sometime in December.
“I think we know, categorically, then, that he will be out for at least another four weeks and potentially into December.
“On Marvin Kaleta, I’ve never been so sure of someone being a good player, trying to bring him to the club, seeing the skill-set that he’s got, his attributes.
“His levels in training were building up and so much of it was down to match fitness, and there have been a couple of games where he’s come off with a bit of fatigue and stuff.
“We’re aware of that, and we feel as if we’re getting over that hurdle, so we feel as if we’ve built him up to a stage.
“But starting games and trying to play 90 minutes at this level in your first senior starts is a different thing.
“But I’m so sure he will cross that hurdle very quickly and I was especially pleased with his performance on Sunday, I thought he was excellent.”
On Koutroumbis and Paton, Kettlewell said: “We’ve had very little game-time for Johnny Koutroumbis, so as much as you’ve seen him on our bench, he hasn’t been able to take part in a game just through circumstances, not having reserve games.
“We’ve got that in hand, we’re trying to take care of that element, going into the international break, trying to get him more match practice.
“Harry Paton will fall into the same category. He’s back fully training, so as much as we see that, we need to get minutes into their legs, whether that be bounce games, friendlies etc.
“Not having a ‘B’ team or a reserve team means having to be creative to get the minutes in their legs, and throwing these guys straight back in probably doesn’t do them any great favours, with the period of time they’ve been out.
“It’s OK after a week, 10 days, or maybe even two weeks, but with the amount of time they’ve been out, they definitely need minutes in the legs.”
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