The injury verdict on Rotherham United key man Joe Powell
ROTHERHAM will be without Joe Powell for up to a month in their fight against relegation after a scan this week confirmed that the midfielder has suffered a hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old is one of the first names on manager Matt Hamshaw's team sheet and his absence will be a huge blow to the Millers, particularly as they are also lacking the services of Dan Gore in the centre of the park.
Powell has had a superb fitness record since moving to AESSEAL New York Stadium in the summer of 2024 but was in obvious discomfort in the first half against Cardiff City last Saturday and failed to reappear after the interval.
“It's not great news,” Hamshaw said. “He's got some tendon damage on his hamstring. He did it in a recovery run.
“He overstretched and just felt something. We're looking at a recovery time of probably three to four weeks.”
The home loss dropped Rotherham to 23rd in the League One table and the first two games Powell sits out will be the crunch clashes against fellow strugglers Burton Albion (21st place) and Doncaster Rovers (20th).
The Millers are a point behind Albion and two adrift of Rovers and have a game in hand over both sides. The division is so tight that only two points separates Hamshaw's men from 17th spot.
They head to the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday before the South Yorkshire derby at New York the following Saturday.
Powell - who spent four and a half years with Burton - had been showing his best form of the season in recent matches and was instrumental in the 4-0 triumph at Exeter City on January 31.
“I think he's been excellent in the last few games,” Hamshaw said. “I didn't think he started great last Saturday. But his deliveries, his creativity - we missed that in the second half.”
The player had placed no extra stress in his body in the build-up to the Cardiff clash, with bad weather leading to a reduced session the day before the match,
“We'd trained in the week as we normally would,” Hamshaw said. “Then, on Friday, we did probably the least we ever have done because of the rain.”
Rotherham have no match this Saturday because scheduled opponents Wigan Athletic - another team in relegation trouble - are in action in the fourth round of the FA Cup.