Kightly has been struggling with ankle and knee problems.
McCarthy believes the 24-year-old will be ‘like having a new player’ when he returns.
“Kightly is doing very well. He’ll start stepping into training with the lads this week,” said McCarthy.
“He will do a couple of sessions with the football for 30 minutes.
“He will be like a new player for us, because we hardly used him at all last year.”
