Matt Hamshaw's words of comfort about Rotherham United's Martin Sherif
MANAGER Matt Hamshaw eased supporters' fears that Martin Sherif had suffered a new injury after the striker's withdrawal during Rotherham United's FA Cup clash with Swindon Town yesterday.
The loan teenager came on as 59th-minute substitute for his first action following a three-game absence with a tight hamstring and was taken off 43 minutes later when the first-round tie at AESSEAL New York Stadium had gone into extra time.
Removing the Everton 19-year-old from proceedings was just a precaution designed to keep him available for Tuesday's League One game with Burton Albion and beyond, Hamshaw revealed.
“The plan was always to play Martin for half an hour,” the manager said. “I played him for longer than that, and I didn't really want to.”
Hamshaw understood why questions were being asked in the crowd as the youngster returned to the dugout in the 102nd minute of the 2-1 loss to League Two opposition.
“I ‘get’ it if there's a little bit of confusion from fans wondering what I was doing,” he said.
Rotherham's casualty count stretched to 14 players at the end of the first-round tie and only a handful of them are in line to return in time for the Burton match at New York.
One of those who hasn't been ruled out is veteran midfielder Liam Kelly who didn't make the squad against Swindon after picking up a calf issue four days earlier in the Vertu Trophy over Manchester City Under-21s.
“He took a knock the other night, so we'll wait and see," Hamshaw said. “I'm not too sure about Tuesday. I'd like to think he'll be back, but I don't know.”
The Burton match is an important one for Rotherham as a victory would lift them into the top ten and add to the momentum of an unbeaten October.
Hamshaw conceded that playing an extra 30 minutes – plus ten minutes of added time at the end of the regulation 90 – wasn't ideal preparation for the visit of the 20th-placed Brewers.
“I'm not going to lie and say today has gone swimmingly well,” he said in his post-match press conference. “You don't really want extra time when you've got a big game coming up. That's the truth.
“We'll see what we've got tomorrow (in terms of injuries and fit players) and then we'll prepare for Burton.”