Millers forced into changes for Cardiff trip

ROTHERHAM United will be forced to do a body count before they launch back into Championship battle at Cardiff City tomorrow.
Jon Taylor  (left) features but Tom Adeyemi (right) misses out at Cardiff tomorrowJon Taylor  (left) features but Tom Adeyemi (right) misses out at Cardiff tomorrow
Jon Taylor (left) features but Tom Adeyemi (right) misses out at Cardiff tomorrow

Striker Danny Ward (calf) is 50-50 while long-term absentees Aimen Belaid and Darnell Fisher may only be fit enough for bench places.

Injured skipper Lee Frecklington is expected to miss the trip.

Jon Taylor will play after recovering from a knock but there will be at least two changes because Cardiff loan pair Tom Adeyemi and Semi Ajayi can't play against their parent club.

Ajayi's absence means new centre-half Joel Ekstrand will be pushing for a debut.

Assessing the challenge, interim boss Paul Warne said he and the players had to be ready for a physical test against an improving Cardiff side.

“They are in a good vein of form. They're a big, strong team and they've got pace up front,” he said. “Cardiff know how we play and I know they'll be diligent on all our set pieces.

“They'll be hard to beat but we need to get our away form going and I hope our lads can take something from the last 135 minutes – the second half against Blackburn and the performance the other night against Huddersfield.

“We're low on numbers but we'll do what we always do and set the team up to try and win.”

The Millers go into the game, which pits them against former manager Neil Warnock, chasing a first away win of the season. They sit 14 points from the safety line with 14 matches to go.