An update on Rotherham United's Lenny Agbaire after surgery
ROTHERHAM United are targeting a pre-Christmas comeback for Lenny Agbaire after the summer signing this week underwent an operation to cure a groin complaint.
The 20-year-old was booked in for surgery on Monday and the procedure has been a success.
Now, the League One Millers are optimistic that the centre-half will be back in contention for a first-team place before the festive schedule kicks off with the December 20 visit of Huddersfield Town.
“We're hoping that it should be a three-to-four week time frame,” manager Matt Hamshaw said.
Agbaire was an instant hit as he played in the first four matches of the season following his free transfer from Scottish giants Celtic.
However, he was hit by bone bruising to his leg and, following a six-week absence, then made only two more appearances until tightness in both of his groins forced him into the treatment room again.
He has been one of five centre-backs on the sidelines but Rotherham have made light of their injury troubles and head to Reading on Saturday seeking to extend their seven-match unbeaten run in the third tier and climb higher than their present 11th spot.
“I think that it's a sign of the environment and the culture that I've been banging on about since I came here (in late March),” Hamshaw said.
“There were things I wanted to change. I wanted to have a mindset of no excuses. I felt like when I first walked through the door there was a lot of: ‘It's someone else's or something else's fault.’
“I'd like to think I've knocked a lot of that out of this club, which is important because I think that excuses just hold you back. Your mental state is key to how you perform and develop and move forward.
“It's easy for me to talk about it. The players have to believe it, the players have to carry it out. I think that, in a period of adversity, that is one thing that has stood us in good stead.”
The Millers are also lacking numbers up front and all of their senior strikers are carrying injuries.
Hamshaw accepts that he will have to mix and match his fit squad members – as he has done for much of the campaign – to field a competitive side.
“No matter who comes in, what happens, who plays where, the players know what it is that I'm expecting from them,” he said. “They've carried that out really well.”