Star man back for Rotherham United crunch showdown
ROTHERHAM United will be boosted by the return of key man Dan Gore for tomorrow's crucial League One home clash with fellows strugglers Northampton Town.
The midfielder hasn't played since December 29 because of a groin niggle but he is back in training and scheduled to be in the matchday 18 for the Cobblers encounter.
The Manchester United loanee, who chose to stay with the Millers for the rest of the season rather than move to a Championship side during the transfer window, has been one of the third tier's best performers.
“We've got Gorey back on Tuesday,” manager Matt Hamshaw confirmed following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon at AESSEAL New York Stadium had ended a run of seven straight league losses.
The match may bring a debut for new centre-half Emmanuel Adegboyega who joined the club on Friday in a permanent deal from Norwich City.
After all their injury woes, Rotherham could be not too far away from full strength for a contest they desperately need to win to close the five-point gap between themselves and safety.
Wing-back Denzel Hall (hamstring) midfielder Josh Benson (calf) and centre-half Hamish Douglas (Achilles) are now the only first-team regulars in the treatment room.
Midfield man Shaun McWilliams may get more game time than he did at the weekend when he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.
He was in line to start against the Dons but lost a toenail in the build-up to the fixture.
The next-to-bottom Millers are checking on midfielder Kian Spence, wing-back Marvin Kaleta and striker Sam Nombe who all came off in the second half against Wimbledon with cramp.
The match represents a great opportunity for the club to win in the league for the first time since November 8 as Northampton are on a poor run of their own and are also in the drop zone. The Cobblers' last third-tier victory was on December 19 and their six most recent league outings have brought four defeats and two draws.
Hamshaw, who would like to add a striker and a wing-back to his squad before the February 2 close of trading, is backing his team to start pulling away from relegation danger.
“I'm fully confident that when we get everybody back and we've hopefully added to our options in these last few days of the window we'll be in a better place,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Millers have a new first-team analyst and will no longer be relying on the services of an intern.
Matt Dixon has joined them from Blackburn Rovers and began work last Monday.