Motherwell midfielder Barry Maguire has been dealt a major blow with news that he's out for the rest of this season.
The 23-year-old had played 19 times this season but was injured during the 2-0 defeat at Hearts on January 29, and has required surgery to fix a problem.
Motherwell boss Graham Alexander says it's a real blow to the club and to the player, and also says striker Kevin Van Veen is still struggling to shake of a shoulder injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen, and which saw him miss out on the 2-2 draw at Rangers on Sunday.
Alexander said: "Barry is still out, he's going to miss the rest of the season, unfortunately. He's had to have a small operation on the muscle in his quad, so he'll be out for the rest of the season.
"We've still got good players in there to compete for the rest of the season.
"It's a blow for him, I feel for him, because he does everything right day in, day out, and he had cemented that place in the team because of his performances and how he trains.
"He was giving us everything we need in that position and we've got another player who is doing it at the moment in Liam Donnelly, which is a credit to the squad that we've got.
"But from a personal note on Barry, I think he's been striving for a couple of seasons now to nail down a spot in the first-team and he had done that with his performances.
"This is the game of football, you need to have a bit of luck on your side, tough bodies to go through a bit.
"It was a difficult one for him to avoid the injury, because it was in a challenge, and it was just luck that took him out.
"But he'll come back stronger, better and more focused on being a better player, that's the beauty of people like Barry Maguire."
Alexander says Van Veen is responding to treatment on his shoulder, but hasn't trained, as his side prepares for the clash at home to Ross County tomorrow.
He said: "Kevin hasn't trained yet. It looks difficult because he obviously took a hefty knock, went for a scan and he hasn't trained.
"It's a difficult situation for him because we hope that we can have him back, so fingers crossed he trains as soon as possible and is included, but it's lingering on.
"The injection has cleared most of it up, but it's still there, so we'll see how it is.
"Nathan McGinley is still out, unfortunately, but [goalkeeper] Scott Fox is back in training today, which is good. He missed the weekend, he was ill.
"Everyone else is fit and raring to go."
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