Caley Thistle have allowed on-loan forward Mitch Curry to return to parent club Middlesbrough three weeks earlier than planned.
Englishman Curry joined Inverness on a six-month temporary deal during the summer in an effort to gain first team experience with the Highlanders.
Curry suffered an early setback however, when he damaged ankle ligaments in a 1-0 Betfred Cup defeat to Dundee in July which caused him to miss nearly three months of action.
During his spell Curry netted twice in just six starting appearances, making a further nine outings from the bench.
Although Curry was not due back at his parent club until January 25, Caley Jags manager John Robertson has allowed the 20-year-old to be released from the loan deal to secure an early return to the Riverside.
Curry reflected fondly on his stint at Caledonian Stadium in a social media post.
Curry said: “Learnt a lot in the Highlands and met some great people. Thanks for the support – on to the next challenge.”
Inverness’ 2-0 win over Dundee on Saturday gave them a four-point gap in second place in the Championship, ahead of nearest challengers Ayr United.
Robertson says recent evidence shows any slackness will result in that gap being reduced, with the Caley Jags manager urging his side to instead focus on trying to rack up the points to draw closer to runaway leaders Dundee United, who are 14 points ahead.
Robertson, whose side face Queen of the South at home on Saturday, said: “We have been four points behind Dundee, and seven points behind Ayr United.
“We have won this week so we move up in our points total which is all we look at going into the next game.
“It’s going to be very difficult to catch the runaway train that is Dundee United, but we’ve got to give them credit because they just keep winning.
“That’s the sign of a team that wants to win the Championship. All we can do is keep winning as many games as we can and see where it takes us.
“As a manager, I’ll be telling my players to scrap for every point and force Dundee United to keep winning. It’s as simple and straightforward as that.
“We are not interested in the gaps behind us – they can be caught very easily. We just want to push ur-point cushion in second plaour points tally up as high as possible.”