Motherwell boss Stevie Hammell admits defender Jake Carroll might not play again this season.
The Irish left-back missed the 2-1 defeat at home to St Johnstone last Saturday, having broken down in training on the Friday night.
And Hammell has revealed that the 31-year-old has ruptured a patellar tendon in his knee, which saw Carroll on crutches last weekend.
Hammell said: "Jake has a ruptured patellar tendon, so it's pretty serious.
"Jake's a great boy, a good player, and it's one we ear-marked for improvement.
"Jake wasn't playing at his full capacity, I believe that, and I think we saw that in the short period of time we watched him in the game and in training, we felt there was a lot of improvement in him.
"So he's going to be a big loss for us, I'm absolutely gutted for the boy.
"He'll be lucky to play this season I think."
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