Stuart Kettlewell eyes Motherwell transfer moves as Paul McGinn hammerblow takes Fir Park crock list to 9
Stuart Kettlewell insists Motherwell are ready to dive back into the transfer market after losing Paul McGinn for the rest of the season.
The Fir Park skipper requires surgery on a thigh injury after hobbling off against Hibs last weekend and takes the Fir Park crock list to NINE. Kettlewell has also lost goalkeeper Aston Oxborough for three months with a fractured finger and midfield ace Lennon Miller with a fractured bone in his ankle while Steve Seddon, Aspostolos Stamatelopoulos, Jair Tavares, Harry Paton and Zach Robinson have joined long-term injured Ross Callachan on the sidelines. Liam Gordon will also miss the weekend trip to face St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup as he follows concussion protocol.
McGinn had only returned to the side this month after three months out with a similar injury. The 34-year-old is out of contract in the summer although Motherwell have an option to extend that by a further 12 months. Kettlewell - whose career was finished at 30 by a hip injury - insists the setback doesn’t mean the end for the veteran defender.
But he said: “Paul was devastated, we’re the same. As always we'll support Paul the best way we possibly can. We’ll all understand that looks like season over for Paul, which is really disappointing. He's been one of the, if not the, most consistent players since I came to the club a couple of years ago. He was made captain, he's just a big influence on everything we do on and off the pitch.
“Just because Paul generally trains and plays all the time. I know he's come back from a longer-term injury, but he's not really been used to it in his career. The fact that he's well over 500 games now would suggest he's been a robust player and somebody who’s always out there through