Will Ollie Rathbone be back for the Ipswich Town showdown? Here's what Rotherham United boss Paul Warne has to say

Ollie RathboneOllie Rathbone
Ollie Rathbone
HIGH-FLYING Rotherham United are crossing their fingers that midfielder Ollie Rathbone will be back in contention for one of their biggest tests of the season.

The Millers head to Ipswich Town on Tuesday night in second place in League One after emerging from the international break yesterday to beat Cambridge United 3-1 and extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.

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Rathbone, a star performer since his summer switch from Rochdale, missed the triumph because of illness.

"Ollie is not well and hasn't trained all week," said manager Paul Warne after goals from Ben Wiles, Dan Barlaser and Freddie Ladapo had seen off the U's.

"I'm hopeful that he'll be okay for Ipswich. I'm not sure. I've been texting him to check on how he's feeling."

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Big-spending Ipswich are outside the play-off spots after a player overhaul by new boss Paul Cook but are the division's leading scorers and are regarded as one of the third tier's strongest squads.

Defender Wes Harding overcame a calf scare to play against Cambridge and Rotherham have no new injury worries following the clash at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

"Everyone is okay," Warne said. "Wes was a bit sore in the warm-up, so we were a bit anxious about him, but he got through okay. In fairness to Wes, he never has injuries. He's very resilient."

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Thirteen-goal striker Michael Smith is available again after serving a one-match and Jamie Lindsay is seeking his first start following his return from a hamstring tear.

The midfield man made his first appearance in more than seven weeks when he came off the bench against Mark Bonner's side and Warne said: "There's no better terrier to put on the pitch than Jamie, so I let him go on and chew at a few ankles."

Midfielder Wiles, who scored his sixth goal of the campaign, believes Rotherham are capable of coming back from East Anglia with all three points.

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“Morale is high and the Cambridge game rubbed off the cobwebs from the international break," he said. "Game-time is completely different to training. I think come Tuesday we'll be flying.

"We just want to keep our run going. It's going to be a tough one - it's a long journey - but we've been there before and got a result.

"I think the confidence we can take from the Cambridge match and previous ones can help us get the win."

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Meanwhile, the Millers are joining forces with police to try to identify a purported offender following a claim of racism at the Cambridge match.

A statement read: "Rotherham United are disappointed to learn of an alleged incident of racial abuse aimed at a visiting supporter.

"The club will now investigate the incident and work closely with South Yorkshire Police to bring anyone guilty of such a claim to justice."