ELLIOTT Frear watched on with a shudder as three of his Motherwell teammates incredibly suffered concussions against Kilmarnock on Boxing Day and knew exactly what it was like to be in their shoes.

Now the winger is hoping and praying that those sickening head knocks don’t have the same effect on Charles Dunne, Carl McHugh and Christian Mbulu as they did on him when he suffered his own concussion last season.

A freak training ground accident not only knocked Frear out cold, but it led to months of ongoing issues as he tried to get back on track.

Now, with those difficulties firmly behind him, he is hoping to build on a dazzling performance for the Steelmen in their victory over Hamilton on Saturday following the winter break.

“It was a crazy week to be honest,” said Frear. “Training on Thursday was like the walking wounded.

“It was ridiculous and some of the lads have serious injuries with their head knocks. I’m really disappointed for them. I’ve had concussion before and it’s horrendous, so I’m looking forward to getting them back.

“It was actually big Cedric Kipre who kicked a ball off my head from really close range in training. You know what big Cedric is like, he’s an animal isn’t he?

“He’s caught one on the volley and it’s hit the top of my head rather than my forehead, and it’s rattled me. I was on the floor and I was out. We followed all the guidelines, but I just didn’t feel right, so it just took time.

“It knocked me out and I struggled after that if I’m honest for about two or three months. I really struggled actually.

“I had headaches, a bit of memory loss, and I was really unsure of myself. It was a weird sort of time in my career really.

“There are studies out there that say it resets your body, and I started to get muscle pulls and things like that, so it was a weird time in my life really.

“It’s a really serious thing in football and I don’t think it gets as much coverage as it should really. I don’t think people quite understand.

“If you get hit like that and get knocked out, when you are getting back, you aren’t scared, but you are almost hesitant to go in with your head because you know how bad it is after it.

“I wasn’t really knocked out that long, and I had complete memory loss. I couldn’t remember anything from the training session or the morning I had with my Mrs. I couldn’t remember anything.

“It was quite scary at the time, but I’ve got over that and I feel fit, and I’m stronger now.”

Frear was the standout performer in Motherwell’s Lanarkshire derby victory, and he believes there is more to come from him in the second half of the season, particularly if he is played in his preferred position.

“The formation suited me a little bit more [on Saturday],” he said. “I had a full-back behind me and we fell into a 4-4-2 formation, and it worked.

“I felt a bit more comfortable. I just feel that I need a full-back behind me sometimes. The weak part of my game is defending at times, so if I can get that out of my head and focus on attacking, then I’ll play better.”