Lennon has faith in injured McGregor

McGregor injured his right knee during Saturday’s defeat by Hibernian, just over 12 months after suffering the same injury in his left knee at Tannadice.

McGregor missed most of last season and faces another campaign in rehab. Lennon is sure the 27-year-old possesses the mental strength to bounce back.

“He has done his cruciate and it’s a massive blow,” said Lennon, whose team face Motherwell in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on Sunday.

“But he has shown once before that he has got the correct temperament, character and drive to come through that. He knows the hard and rocky road that lies ahead of him. I’ll certainly be using Darren’s situation to motivate the players on Sunday and should we get the victory we’ll dedicate it to Darren… when one hurts, we all hurt.”

McGregor was St Mirren’s best player in his first season in Paisley, but his progress has now been curtailed twice.

Lennon, who took McGregor to Paisley from Cowdenbeath, added: “Someone with Darren’s drive is going to miss two years running but he is mentally tough and has a fantastic medical team and there is no doubt in my mind he will recover.”