Rotherham United fear the worst over Kion Etete injury
ROTHERHAM United say they are devastated by the news that Kion Etete has suffered an injury that could leave him facing a long spell on the sidelines.
The Millers, for now, aren't revealing what the problem is, but manager Matt Hamshaw described it as “serious” after watching his side win away from home for the first time this season, at Northampton Town yesterday.
Twenty-three-year-old Etete has a poor fitness record and had already missed matches for his new club through groin and knee issues before pulling up in training two days before the trip to Sixfields Stadium.
“We've monitored his comeback really closely – given him two 45 minutes,” Hamshaw said. “He got a serious injury, we think, on Thursday, which is devastating for everybody, Kion included, obviously.
“It was absolutely nothing in training. We've been careful in managing and monitoring his workload.”
The Cardiff City man has made nine Rotherham appearances since his summer move and is due to spend the season at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
“Not at this moment, no,” said Hamshaw when asked if he could put a timescale on the centre-forward's length of absence.
“Look, he's had a few injuries in the past, he's also had injuries here. I'm sure that all will be revealed the next time I speak to you (the media). It looks like it's a serious one.
“As I say, I'm devastated to lose him because he's been a handful in games since he's been here.”
Hamshaw is next due to be interviewed by journalists on Thursday.
When asked by the Advertiser if he could say what the nature of the injury is, the manager replied: "No, not at this moment."
Etete joins another attacker, Josh Kayode, in the treatment room but the Millers are looking stronger up front now that Martin Sherif and Sam Nombe have made their comebacks from hamstring complaints.
The former started the 2-1 victory over Northampton while the latter came on as a substitute to play for the first time since the second week of the League One campaign.
In addition, striker Jordan Hugill gave arguably his best display of the season when he was brought on for the second half and set up Joe Rafferty's equaliser before Josh Benson bagged an 87th-minute winner.
“I know that Kion's capable of doing so much,” Hamshaw said. “I want him to get to 90 minutes and he's a work in progress. But, unfortunately, he's got an injury.
“He's another player we've lost. It's sad and we send our best wishes to him. But there are positives. You saw with Sherif, Hugill and Nombe – and Kayode is coming back – that we do have goals in the team.
“We've been scoring from other areas. Those players didn't score against Northampton but I thought they led the line really well. They're going to be big players for us moving forward.”