New manager Steve Evans addresses Rotherham United injury nightmare

The treatment room has been so crowded as the Millers have slid back into League One this season that a full nine-man bench on matchdays has been a painfully rare occurrence.

Evans was appointed boss a week and half ago and has pledged to have Rotherham contending for an instant return to the second tier next term.

He is investigating why so many players have been out of action as he prepares for a summit with chairman Tony Stewart and the board at which he will propose a raft of improvements that he believes will restore order at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

“I look at the injury record,” he said. “When there are continually lots and lots of soft-tissue injuries, there's a reason for it.

“That's also part of the process of looking behind the scenes. You don't look just at the players, you look at the staffing ratios, you look at everything behind it all.”

The number of first-teamers to have been hit by hamstring issues this season is close to double figures, with Grant Hall, Sean Morrison, Tyler Blackett, Peter Kioso, Sam Clucas, Cafu, Lee Peltier, Cameron Humphreys and Hakeem Odoffin spending varying amounts of time on the sidelines.

Other players who have been unavailable include Cohen Bramall (ankle), Andre Green (Achilles), Shane Ferguson (hernia), Christ Tiehi (pelvis), Jamie Lindsay (Achilles) and Jordan Hugill (knee).

This summer is likely to see a flurry of player and staff exits and a significant number of incomings.

“The chairman has told me to make my report blunt, honest and open so the board can be educated about what they've had in the last 12 months and what we need to move forward in the next 12 months," Evans said.

“There's lots to learn and we'll continue to learn over the next week to ten days. Then I'll make my recommendations to the chairman, Richard (vice-chairman and Stewart's son) and the board.

“I've had incredible support since I came back, from the chairman to the people I meet when I go into the town.

“The fans want us to play the way Rotherham United have become famous for. It's a style that has industry all over it.

“Maybe we've gone away a little bit from our true DNA. The DNA is good players who have lots of quality but also work incredibly hard.”

The boss was able to name only four outfield substitutes for Saturday's 2-0 loss at Bristol City and is set to have a similar headache for the final match of the campaign next weekend when Cardiff City are the visitors to New York.

Morrison (calf), Clucas (knee), Blackett (hamstring), Kioso (hamstring), Cafu (groin), Lindsay (unspecified) Fergie (unspecified), Tiehi (pelvis) and Green (Achilles) missed out at City and most, if not all, will be absent again.

Previous bosses Matt Taylor and Leam Richardson partly blamed poor drainage at the club’s Roundwood training complex for the injury situation and a major upgrade is under way.