Rotherham United hit by new major injury blow

The midfielder has endured a troubled first season with the Millers and had already been in the treatment room several times before suffering his latest setback.

He went off at half-time in Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Bradford City with a calf issue and won't be wearing a red-and-white shirt again for a while.

“He's going to be out for a number of weeks,” said manager Matt Hamshaw. “He's done his soleus.”

The soleus is a powerful muscle that runs from just below the knee to the Achilles tendon and a problem in that area sidelined Spence for more than a month earlier in the campaign.

The summer arrival has impressed when he's been fit but has managed only 22 appearances.

When it was put to Hamshaw that the 25-year-old had bad luck with injuries, the boss replied: “We've had that with a lot of players this season, haven't we.”

The Millers casualty count is running yet again into double figures, with Spence, Dan Gore, Joe Powell, Denzel Hall, Hamish Douglas, Marvin Kaleta, Jordan Hugill, Zak Jules, Shaun McWilliams, Dru Yearwood and Josh Kayode all out of action.

There is hope that at least a couple of those players may be available for tomorrow's home clash with Plymouth Argyle.

Gore is closing in on a return and the ankle knock that forced Yearwood to come off against Bradford isn't thought to be too serious.

“With Dru, we're hopeful it isn't as bad as we first feared, so it's a race against time for him.” Hamshaw said.

The manager also revealed that “one or two” other men have resumed training again. He chose not to specify who they were and there is no guarantee that any of them will be ready to be included in the matchday 18 against the Pilgrims.

Deadline-day signing Duncan Watmore may be in line for a second start as the Millers seek to narrow the five-point gap between them and safety.

The striker was Rotherham's most dangerous player against Doncaster Rovers last weekend. However, he had to be content with an outing as a substitute at Bradford as the Millers gradually bring him up to speed after ten months out of the game.

The 1-0 loss against City was the Millers' fourth defeat on the trot. They were always in the contest against promotion-chasing opponents but created only a couple of clear-cut scoring opportunities.

“We need a bit more quality in the final third,” Hamshaw said. “I think that the work rate, the desire, the commitment is there.

“It's frustrating. Nobody purposely goes out there to miss the target. We have to make sure that we keep working on it in training, keep doing the right things, make sure the players have real clarity in their roles and make sure that we keep striving to be the best version of ourselves.

“Look, this period has been tough, there's no shying away from that. But there have been glimmers of good things. Individual mistakes and lapses in concentration have been the bits that have hurt us.

“When you're low on confidence as well, scoring goals is probably the hardest thing to do, hence why strikers earn the big bucks.

“We need to make sure that we're on the front foot. I've been disappointed in our set-pieces, I've been disappointed that we get into dangerous areas and then don't put a good cross in. We need to be better, cuter and more accurate in what we're doing.”