Another injury worry for Rotherham United as they head to Shrewsbury Town

Rotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim BrailsfordRotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim Brailsford
Rotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim Brailsford
ROTHERHAM United could be without Sean Raggett when they seek to end a near-two-year wait for an away win at Shrewsbury Town tomorrow.

The centre-half has picked up a knee issue in training and is facing a fitness test today along with striker Jonson Clarke-Harris who took a knock to his calf against Birmingham City last weekend.

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Attacker Mallik Wilks, who hurt his ankle in the Blues clash, trained yesterday and is expected to be available for the League One trip to Shropshire which sees the 21st-placed Millers take on the division's bottom club. Raggett has just returned to the first-team fold after being sidelined for more than a month with a twisted knee. The latest problem concerns his other leg.

"It's nothing serious but it's enough to give us a concern," manager Steve Evans said this morning. "It was just an innocent one when he was practising heading. He loves to practise.

Rotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim BrailsfordRotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim Brailsford
Rotherham United centre-half Sean Raggett. Picture: Jim Brailsford

"He landed and twisted his knee a little bit. If it was the last day of the season, we'd put him out there.

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"I will not, despite results not being there for us at the minute, allow players to go on to the pitch for us if they're not 100 per cent.

"That could then give us 12/15-week problems as opposed to a one-week problem. We hope Sean will be on the coach today."

The Millers are due to travel this afternoon and the absence of Raggett would be a big blow as they seek to climb the table with a first victory on their travels since a 1-0 Championship triumph at Sheffield United on November 8 2022.

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The 30-year-old had made his comeback last Saturday in the 2-0 loss to Birmingham.

"His performance spoke volumes about him," Evans said. "It was one of the better points of the afternoon. He was commanding and strong. I don't remember Birmingham winning too many headers, they did their best work on the floor.

"He's a big threat in opposition boxes as well."

Centre-forward Jordan Hugill has missed training this week because a family member has been ill but reported for duty at Rotherham's Roundwood base this morning.

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Shrewsbury have suffered six defeats in their opening seven league matches and tomorrow's contest offers the Millers a good chance to end their 690-day winless streak on the road.

However, Evans refused to talk up his team's prospects too much.

"When (manager) Paul Hurst was making his signings in the summer, everyone, including the people at the Shrews, thought that this would be a big season for them," he said.

"A lot of their losses have been by the odd goal. They've been in games. We're very respectful of them."

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