Look who might be back for Rotherham United this weekend!
HITMAN Sam Nombe could be handed a place in Rotherham United's matchday squad on Saturday after coming through his long-awaited return to full training this week following a two-month injury absence.
Assistant boss Dale Tonge said on Tuesday that the League One clash at Northampton Town would come too soon for the striker who has been out of action since the second weekend of the season with a torn hamstring.
However, there was a welcome change of tack from manager Matt Hamshaw's at this afternoon's pre-match press conference when he hinted that the 26-year-old may be named among the substitutes for the Cobblers fixture.
“Watch this space,” he said. “Wait and see.”
Nombe has scored seven goals in ten outings since Hamshaw's appointment and the boss can't wait to see the club's record signing back in the team.
He is aware of the psychological effect it could have on the opposition if one of the division's best centre-forwards is in the party that travels to Sixfields Stadium.
“Sam's a massive player for us,” Hamshaw said. “I think that if Northampton saw him involved on Saturday, they wouldn't like it. I know that if I were up against him, I wouldn't like it.
“The quicker we can get him back, the better. If you had asked Sam, he'd have told you he was ready three weeks ago!”
The Millers' treatment room is clearing and they have an embarrassment of riches in the centre of the park, with Josh Benson, Kian Spence, Joe
Powell, Shaun McWilliams, Dan Gore and Drue Yearwood all vying for places and Liam Kelly due back from a calf knock next week.
“I'm really encouraged by our midfielders, we've got really good options now,” said Hamshaw whose newly-built side are seeking their first away points of the campaign and to lift themselves out of the drop zone.
“We are getting people back and we are getting somewhere. We are getting that competition back.
“It's not just around the Saturday, it's about the week building up to that. The training standards – the way that we prepare, the way that the players push each other through, the competition that they get at Roundwood - have a big impact on a Saturday.”