MARK McGHEE has revealed forgotten Motherwell star Carl McHugh won't play again this year as he continues to recover from a severe head knock.

The midfielder suffered a horror clash with Dean Hawkshaw in the first game of the Premiership season away to Kilmarnock that left him with gash in his head so deep you could see his skull.

Ten stitches were needed to close the gaping wound endured on August 6, but there has been no sign of the Irishman in the three months that have followed.

McHugh has returned to his homeland to recuperate but still is suffering some side effects. As a result, Motherwell boss McGhee is content to give the player all the time he needs to fully recover - even if that means not seeing him well into 2017.

"I don’t think he will be back before Christmas or New Year. The earliest would be New Year but again it is guesswork," he said.

"You could be asking me the same question in six months time. There is no defined prognosis or timescale.

"I think you have to wait for three weeks clear of any symptoms before he can train again. And he is far from that at the moment.

"He is still having symptoms. He has seen another expert in Dublin and he has reassured him that it is not anything sinister. It will clear up, but he just has to be patient.

"If he had a broken leg, you can put a time on it. You can’t quite do that here but it will clear up. He just has to sit tight.

"I had phone Carl and tell him that no-one here felt he was letting us down or that he was taking some kind of holiday.

"He is that kind of boy. The doctor over that said that in itself was causing him anxiety and we had to deal with that before he could start getting better. It is quite complicated with a head injury like that."

McHugh will of course be keen to get back to the club he signed for in the summer as they attempt to haul themselves up the Ladbrokes Premiership table.

After a weekend off duty to Betfred Cup action keeping opponents Aberdeen busy, McGhee's team welcome Inverness to Fir Park tonight hoping to claim three points that will propel them into the top six ahead of Ross County's visit on Saturday.

McGhee said: "People will look at these games – rather than the ones against Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts – as one where we would hope to get points.

"But Inverness have a good physical stature and decent players in important positions. I think they have just not fired on all cylinders, a little bit like us.

"We played brilliantly for half an hour against Hamilton and I thought we played well against Hearts and Celtic.

"But we have not really clicked yet – and I think Inverness are the same. We have to be on our guard to make sure they don’t find their form against us."

Motherwell could still be without veteran left-back Stevie Hammell who missed the 2-0 defeat at Parkhead earlier this month as they wait to see if he can shake off a hamstring niggle.