McFadden is very much in the twilight of his career and it is questionable whether, now aged 32, he will attempt to come back to professional football once more.
Certainly the club should offer him a contract to cover the opening months of next season if that is his wish - it would be the decent thing to do regardless of the sentiment involved in his particular case.
Faddy comes on against Cove Rangers
McFadden came through the Motherwell youth ranks as a precocious teenager in the early 2000s and offered a faint light of hope in what was a dire spell for the club on the pitch.
His subsequent transfer to Everton enabled the club to exit administration but he failed to become a regular at Goodison Park. A move to Birmingham saw him settle as a Premiership regular but with added discipline, some of the flair of the past was gone.
That was not the case on international duty as he scored several memorable goals in 48 Scotland caps, including the winner away to France in 2007 and a 60-yard solo run against Macedonia in 2009.
McFadden returned to Fir Park in 2013 and performed well to help the club secure second place but his influence began to wan and he was released in 2014, only to return late 2015.
In a couple of appearances, notably at Tannadice, he showed he could still contribute recently and the BBC reported Mark McGhee saying he would have started Saturday against Aberdeen but for his injury.
Ultimately McFadden's playing career did not truly hit the heights promised by his early potential but his contribution to Motherwell, on and off the park, has been undeniable.
We all wish him well in his recovery.