Three new injuries leave Lee Clark questioning what's going on at Rotherham United

The new manager inherited a double-figure casualty count when he took the hot-seat last month and the latest setbacks have helped to convince him that there is something seriously wrong at the club.

Centre-half Hamish Douglas, who had just returned from a hamstring issue, was ruled out on the eve of yesterday's derby loss to Barnsley and couldn't be named in the squad for the AESSEAL New York Stadium clash.

Then midfield pair Josh Benson and Liam Kelly had to be taken off during the 3-1 reverse and are set to miss the match at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday when a defeat would relegate the Millers from League One.

“Benson and Kelly are struggling,” Clark said. “It looks like soft-tissue injuries. I'll elaborate on that. We try to be intense in training, we lose a couple of players. We try to be intense in the match and play on the front foot, we lose players. And that's been the theme all season.

“The medical room is absolutely packed. It's absolutely crazy. It shouldn't be like that. Soft-tissue injuries are a big no-no in sport. There's something not right if you keep picking up soft-tissue injuries. Impact injuries - break your leg, do your ligaments, get a bad dead leg in a tackle - you've got to accept them. It's a contact sport. But the soft-tissue injuries, nah, nah, nah.”

The absence of Douglas, who is also likely to miss the Wigan trip, added to the boss's frustration and gave more weight to the point he was making about the club having so many absentees.

“He finished training on Friday and reported an injury,” Clark said. ”There we go.”

Centre-back Lenny Agbaire, playing after jarring his knee a week earlier and sitting out the 1-0 midweek loss at Port Vale, was substituted at half-time against the Tykes, but it wasn't through medical concerns.

“That was very tactical,” Clark confirmed.