Rotherham United boss Matt Taylor's prediction about Sean Morrison

ROTHERHAM United manager Matt Taylor is tipping injury-hit January signing Sean Morrison to prove he still has what it takes to excel in the Championship.

The centre-half’s short-term contract at AESSEAL New York Stadium has expired and the Millers have offered him a new deal despite most of his time with them being spent in the treatment room.

The 31-year-old managed only two matches for his new club in their successful second-tier survival push before suffering thigh damage that required surgery.

The former Cardiff City captain is closing in on a return to full fitness and Rotherham are hoping he chooses to extend his stay with them rather than join another team.

“I think he will go on to be a top-end Championship player again,” Taylor predicted.

A player of Morrison’s quality would normally have been beyond the Millers’ reach but he had been sidelined for a year because of a knee operation and had been released by the Bluebirds.

Taylor believed it was worth gambling on the defender staying clear of further trouble and swooped in the last transfer window.

“There’s a reason why we were able to get him in the first place,” the boss said. “We just didn’t have his full value for long enough. We still feel signing him was the right thing to do.”

Right-footed Morrison had impressed in a home win over Blackburn Rovers and a draw at Watford when he was hit by misfortune at the Millers’ Roundwood base.

“It was a bit of a freak moment,” Taylor said. “He did it while striking a ball with his left foot in training, which is probably something he’s not done often enough in his career!

“Sometimes you need a little luck at certain moments. Luck on this occasion certainly went against us.

“Had it happened in a game we might have expected it more because playing two matches in quick succession would have taken a toll on his body.”

Morrison had played nearly 300 games in seven and a half years for Cardiff in the Championship and Premier League until he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in early February 2022.

Despite being out of action with Rotherham, he attended every game at New York and was a big presence in the dressing room as the Millers made sure of safety and finished in 19th spot.

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SEAN Morrison believes the injury he suffered only a fortnight into his Rotherham United career could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Following 12 months out at Cardiff City with an anterior cruciate knee ligament problem, he joined the Millers only to be laid low by a thigh issue that ended his season in January.

The centre-half is banking on the extra time off helping him to be in prime condition by the time the 2023/24 campaign comes around.

Speaking during Rotherham’s Championship survival run-in, he said: “The injury I came back from last year was definitely the worst I’ve had but my road to recovery from that taught me a lot about myself and my body

“My recovery this time gives me an opportunity to further strengthen in areas that I was already strengthening following the ACL injury.

“I know I can improve my physical abilities over the next few months during rehab and come back better.”