AMID the pounding headaches, bouts of dizziness, spells of anxiety and days of frustration, Carl McHugh never gave up hope.

Often isolated and far away from the team he dreamed about once again training and playing with across the Irish Sea, the midfielder instead had to content himself with long walks with his dad’s dogs in Donegal to ease the burden on his mind.

He couldn’t even watch Loose Women on the telly.

On just his third game since signing for Motherwell from Plymouth back in August, McHugh suffered a horrific head knock with Kilmarnock’s Dean Hawkshaw on the opening day of the season.

It was a blow that left a gash so big his skull was visible through the blood and broken flesh, unsurprisingly keeping him out for a prolonged spell of four months.

After finally returning to action during Wednesday night’s 2-1 win at Inverness, the former Republic of Ireland U21 cap was understandably happy to put his nightmare behind him.

“The mad thing was that for spells I couldn’t watch TV, my sensitivity light was one of the symptoms. You don’t want to read, you don’t want to go on your phone too much,” said McHugh.

“I was walking the two dogs Lilly and Charlie for my dad. I was going for little walks, anything just to keep myself occupied.

“I had no idea what was to come when I picked up the injury. We were playing Celtic in the midweek and I felt fine up until the Tuesday. Things deteriorated from there. A few symptoms started to show up and it got worse from there. It's been a really tough few months.

“More is known about concussion in sport now. There are real risks to it. There's no point in worrying about what might have happened. It was tough and, please God, I'm just happy to be out the other side of it now.”

As McHugh struggled with the physical symptoms of his condition, he explained the psychological scars cut the deepest as feared for what those back at Fir Park would think of his absence.

“It was tough,” he explained. “There were some really tough times and I did worry. If you do your knee or your hamstring then you get a scan and they might say 'you're back in six weeks'. With this there was no way of telling.

“I went to see a specialist in Dublin. Everyone told me it would take time but I would be fine. I was lucky I had a good support system between Motherwell, my family and my girlfriend to see me through it. Without that I'd have struggled a lot more.

“He [Motherwell manager Mark McGhee] did call me and everyone at the club told me to take as much time as I need, that there was no pressure.

“It sounds obvious but when you are in that position you do have those doubts, especially when you’ve just signed and you’re not sure if people know your character or what you’re like. It definitely helped.”

McGhee claimed that he thought McHugh was actually man of the match during that win in Inverness, and he will be looking for more of the same from the 23-year-old when he takes to the field today in the Lanarkshire derby.

It is unlikely captain Keith Lasley will recover from a shoulder injury in time to face Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park, and the Motherwell manager said: We saw at Inverness - he was man of the match, having not played a game and trained for a week. He was outstanding. It speaks volumes for his character and determination.

“We can look forward to it on the back of a positive result away at Inverness. It’s a local derby, which I love. The surface has no added significance for us. We train on it regularly and our under-20s play on it at Airdrie. We’re familiar with it. It’s an opportunity to go into the break in sixth spot if Thistle don’t win. That’s the incentive.”