Jamal Blackman ignores pain for Rotherham United, plus why Mickel Miller didn't make squad for Reading

The Chelsea loanee hurt his ankle in midweek against Nottingham Forest but took his place in the side that lost 3-0 at Championship leaders Reading on Saturday.

Had he dropped out, Viktor Johansson would have come in for his debut, leaving no keeper cover on the bench as number three Lewis Price hasn't been named in the 24-man squad submitted by the Millers to the EFL.

"He didn't train on Thursday. He trained on Friday but was still in pain," said manager Paul Warne who is preparing his team for Wednesday's AESSEAL New York Stadium clash against Sheffield Wednesday.

"He has been in really good form so it was a good boost for the team that we knew he could play. He is fit. He is not 100 per cent fit, but luckily he doesn't have to run around like everybody else."

Left winger Mickel Miller started at Forest but was left out of the matchday squad at the Madejski Stadium because Warne wanted him to be fresh for the South Yorkshire derby.

"Mickel has had a couple of tough of games and just looked a bit jaded," the boss said. "I could have had him on the bench, but if he is jaded I probably wouldn't put him on.

Mickel Miller

"I had Sads (Kieran Sadlier) on the bench as another outlet, I had quite a lot of attacking options. There is nothing wrong with Mickel. He will be fine for selection for Wednesday."

Rotherham dominated the first half at Reading and were in the contest until the 79th minute when Yakou Meite scored the second of his two goals.

Warne blamed himself for the winger's strike which came from a corner, saying: "I pushed Freddie (striker Ladapo) up. I thought: 'There are 15 minutes left. We might get a chance on the counter here.' So the lads concede and that is on me.

The Millers head into the derby with no new fitness concerns as they look for a first home league victory over the Owls since 1976

"I don't think we have got any injuries," Warne said after the Reading clash. "They're just battered and bruised and disappointed, but on the whole I think they are good."

Jamie Lindsay, who again played well in a central-midfield role against the Royals, said: "We can't get our heads down and dwell on Reading. We have to recover now and be ready for a massive game.

"For large spells we were the better team, especially in the first half. They're top of the league, aren't they, and for the first 45 minute their players didn't know what was happening."