TERRY Butcher is not going to appeal Richie Foran's red card against Hearts, leaving the Caley Thistle boss short of midfielders for Saturday's visit of Celtic.

The Inverness captain will be automatically banned ahead of the game against the reigning SPL champions after being dismissed by referee Bobby Madden for a challenge on Hearts player Ryan McGowan during the 2-2 draw between the two clubs at Tynecastle at the weekend.

With fellow central midfielder Owain Tudur Jones still to serve the second of a two-game ban, Butcher finds his options limited.

He said: "I don't think the referee will change his mind, so there's no point appealing it.

"I know Richie is quite disappointed and it's the one thing that we did not want with Owain currently out through suspension.

"It's going to make a bit more difficult in terms of who we bring in, but we'll have a look at the squad and see what we've got."