Rotherham United boosted by injuries in rival camp

Huddersfield Town are in second place in League One as they make the short trip from West Yorkshire tomorrow after winning their opening three league matches.

But they will be weakened by the absence of three first-teamers, which boosts the Millers' hopes of picking up their first third-tier victory of the new campaign.

Defender Brodie Spencer, who had been called up by Northern Ireland, and midfielders David Kasumu and Herbie Kane are all out of action.

Spencer and Kasumu suffered shoulder and ankle injuries respectively in last Saturday's 1-0 home triumph over Shrewsbury Town while former Barnsley man May picked up a groin problem in training the day before that clash.

Huddersfield boss Michael Duff said: “Spencer's shoulder looks a little bit worse than we thought. It’s going to be six weeks. Kas is worse than what we thought too. He’ll be four to six weeks.”

Attacker Rhys Healey (groin) is rated as ‘touch and go’ while centre-half Matty Pearson is suspended.

Meanwhile, Ben Wiles returns to New York in his best form since he left Rotherham a year ago.

The midfielder comes back to his old stamping ground with Huddersfield whom he joined in a £1-million-plus switch.

The 25-year-old struggled for starts with the Terriers as they were relegated from the Championship but, under new boss Duff, has already become a key man this term.

He has been in the side for all three league matches and has scored twice as Town have collected nine points.

Wiles was on target on opening day in a 2-0 win at Peterborough United and repeated the feat in a 2-1 home victory over Stevenage on August 17.

He came through the youth ranks with the Millers and went on to make 194 appearances, play a part in two League One promotions and lift silverware at Wembley in the Papa Johns Trophy Final.

Last season, he started Huddersfield's 2-0 home win over Rotherham and came on as a substitute at New York in a 0-0 March stalemate.

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One to watch

Danny Ward spent two and a half years with Rotherham between January 2015 and June 2017 and was part of the squad that pulled off the Championship survival great escape under Neil Warnock. Now aged 33, the attacker has been with Huddersfield since leaving Cardiff City, for whom he played in the Premier League, four years ago. in 129 appearances he has scored 24 goals.

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Form guide

Millers: LWDWLL

Huddersfield: WWWWL

Huddersfield were 1-0 home winners over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday and lost 3-2 at Walsall in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

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Past meetings

Mar 16 2024, Championship: Millers 0 Huddersfield 0

Sep 16 2023, Championship: Huddersfield 2 Millers 0

Dec 29 2022, Championship: Huddersfield 2 Millers 0

Oct 15, 2022, Championship: Millers 2 Huddersfield 1

Conor Washington, Georgie Kelly

Apr 10, 2021, Championship: Huddersfield 0 Millers 0

Oct 3 2020, Championship: Millers 1 Huddersfield 1

Ben Wiles

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Opposition boss

Michael Duff is in his first season as Huddersfield head coach and already has them in the top two in League One. The former Burnley player led Cheltenham Town to League Two promotion in his first boss's job and then took Barnsley to the final of the League One play-offs. A short-lived spell at Championship Swansea City ended in the sack before the Terriers turned to him following their relegation from the second tier.

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Man in the middle

Sebastian Stockbridge is a referee development officer for Durham County Football Association. The Tyne and Wear official has been on the EFL list for 12 years and has risen as high as the Championship. Last term, his 30 games saw him issue 142 yellow cards and send off two players. He was the referee at Wembley when Rotherham won the Papa Johns Trophy Final against Sutton United in April 2022.

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The odds

It’s 8/5 on a Rotherham win and 17/10 on Town taking the spoils. A draw is 11/5. The Millers have won 11 of 62 contests between the clubs since 1919, with Huddersfield claiming 33 victories.