Why Richard Wood didn't play for Rotherham United at Blackburn Rovers and why manager Matt Taylor thinks he should maybe have treated Brooke Norton-Cuffy differently

CAPTAIN Richard Wood was left out of the Rotherham United squad this weekend to give him a break from the Millers' relentless fixture schedule.

Manager Matt Taylor confirmed that the 37-year-old centre-half wasn't injured after omitting him from the matchday 18 that suffered a 3-0 Championship loss at Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

The new boss, facing a run of eight matches in less than a month before the World Cup break, didn't want to take an unnecessary gamble on the  veteran defender's fitness.

Wood, who took interim charge with fellow centre-back Lee Peltier between the departure of Paul Warne and Taylor's appointment, had featured against Wigan Athletic the previous Saturday and Millwall four days later.

"We can't put players out there who are probably in the risk zone," Taylor said. "Woody always puts himself forward, always wants to play, but I don't think there is a time in the last couple of seasons where he has played three games in quick succession, certainly not on a Wednesday going through to a Saturday.

"And that's on top of the week he had when he was preparing and working with the team and not getting much training time himself.

"We wanted to de-load, so to speak, so he can have a positive effect going into next weekend (at home to Huddersfield Town)."

A player at the other end of the age spectrum, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, was taken off at Ewood Park as his amount of game-time caught up with him.

The 18-year-old loanee has featured in every match since his August arrival from Arsenal and his workload as a wing-back has been extremely demanding.

"He looked lifeless in terms of his energy and brightness," Taylor said. "You've all seen him when he has been physically right. Three games in a week is a lot for a young kid.

"We had one day less recovery than the opposition. People say it's only one day but that makes a big difference - and certainly when you're an 18-year-old. Full credit to him for getting through a three-game week."

Brooke Norton-Cuffy in action at Blackburn

The manager says that, with the benefit of hindsight, he should possibly have chosen someone else to start against Rovers.

"Looking back on what we could have done differently maybe we could have looked after him," he said.

"Brooke reported fine on Friday and on the morning of the match and we wanted him on the pitch because we felt he was an attacking outlet. But he found it difficult."

Rotherham have no midweek match to worry about as they prepare for the visit of the Terriers, although the reserves are in action on Tuesday when some first-team fringe players are expected to feature.