New injury blow: Thomas Holmes out of action one game into his Rotherham United career
NEW boy Thomas Holmes is facing at least two months on the sidelines after suffering a rare type of injury on his Rotherham United debut.
The centre-half is said to be “devastated” by the setback after making such an accomplished first appearance following his deadline-day loan switch from fellow League One side Luton Town.
The 25-year-old partially tore the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee during last Saturday's 1-0 win over Exeter City, although the issue didn't become apparent until the day after.
“It's the outside of his knee,” manager Matt Hamshaw said this afternoon. “He's done his ‘LCL’. It's not a common injury at all.
“I spoke to him after the game on Saturday and he was absolutely fine. He said he'd just got a bit of a knock but that everything was okay. He walked up the stairs to get his Man-of-the-Match award.
“I spoke to him again just before he left. He said how much he was enjoying it here, how pleased he was to be playing again and that he was loving the environment.”
Holmes, who came to prominence with Reading before joining Luton in 2024, has had injury problems in the past but the new one is in no way related to his previous history.
The Millers have been hit hard by absentees in the opening stages of the season and the unavailability of the defender until November at the earliest is another blow to Hamshaw as he bids to make progress with a newly-assembled squad.
“Thomas woke up on Sunday morning and reported that he was struggling to walk on it,” the boss said. “We got him in for a scan and then got the news. It's typical of the luck we're having with injuries at the minute.
“I spoke to the lad this morning and he's devastated. He feels like he's left everyone down, which he absolutely hasn't. It's horrific for him. He'd just got back to playing. You saw in his first match the reasons why we brought him in.”
Rotherham signed Holmes in the dying minutes of the transfer window on September 1 as they had lost two other centre-backs, Lenny Agbaire and Sean Raggett, to injury.
They will now be hoping that another late loan arrival, Jamal Baptiste, can step up and become a regular starter at the heart of the backline while other players are out of action.
The lateral collateral ligament is on the outer side of the knee and connects the thigh bone (femur) to the small bone in the lower leg (fibula). It provides stability for the knee by bracing it against side-to-side movement and preventing it from being pushed outwards.
“Hopefully, Thomas will be back in around eight weeks,” Hamshaw said.