Motherwell boss confirms injured players will still be missing after international break
dailyrecord.co.ukMotherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was delighted to beat the transfer window deadline to sign loanees Jair Tavares from Hibs and Jack Vale from Blackburn Rovers.But the Fir Park gaffer says none of his injured players are likely to return ahead of their Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Dundee United on September 20.Winger Tavares comes in from the Easter Road club, while striker Vale is no stranger to the club, having been on a similar loan deal last season.That takes Motherwell’s summer signings to 17, but only 11 of those were involved in the squad that beat St Johnstone 2-1 at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Ross Callachan, Johnny Koutroumbis and Filip Stuparevic have been long-term absentees in what has been a particularly unlucky period.Kettlewell said: “It has been such a long transfer window.
We started pretty much from day one, and we’ve spent a lot of time trying to strengthen our group and get the best players in that we possibly can.“We’ve been dealt a bit of a blow, which sort of deviated the plan a little bit, if I’m being brutally honest, but I’m really happy with the guys that we’ve got in here.“I think you can see there’s competition for places, and there will be with players coming back from injury.“So getting Jack Vale in is a wee bit more consistent, in that he knows the club, and I thought he did well when he came on.“Jair Tavares will offer us that sort of pace and direct running that we’ve seen from JT on the left-hand side so far.“It gives us another wee dimension to the team, more options, and I’m really pleased to have him.”On the injuries, Kettlewell said: “I don’t think we’ll have anybody back after the international break.“I think the best-case scenario we’re
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