Alan Stubbs talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Rotherham United boss Alan Stubbs says Saturday’s South Yorkshire derby with Barnsley could mark a return for long-term absentee Joe Newell, while admitting that Tom Adeyemi is likely to miss out on the clash at Oakwell.The Millers boss says he could welcome the 23-year-old into his matchday squad for the first time, with Newell’s last involvement coming as an unused substitute at Wolverhampton Wanderers last season prior to an ankle operation.
Stubbs took time to pay tribute to the former Peterborough United man’s efforts to return to fitness and says he could return ahead of schedule for Saturday’s derby.
“I think Joe’s got a good chance of being in the squad for the weekend,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.
“He’s been training now for the best part of 10 days and he’s had no adverse effects to his injury and it’s great to see him on the training pitch again.
“We initially pencilled playing time in for the back end of this month, so he’s done really well and worked really hard and he’s in good physical condition without playing any games. We’re happy with where he is right now.”
Meanwhile Adeyemi, who made his debut for the Millers last weekend, is likely to miss out on the short hop to Barnsley after being withdrawn from the win over Brentford with a thigh injury.
“Tom’s probably looking doubtful for the game. He’s had a scan and the results that we got from it were as good as what we could have expected,” Stubbs added.
“It’s nothing too significant and we’re very confident that he’ll be back for the first game after the break.
“It’s come at a good time for Tom. We were speaking about it a couple of days ago and if you are going to get any type of niggles, strains or muscle injury, now is the time to get it. He’s got three weeks now for a 10 day/two week maximum injury so it’s good for him.”
Club captain Lee Frecklington will have his situation assessed nearer to kick off on Saturday and could be in contention should his recovery continue to progress.
“He’s close and we’ll have to see how he is over the next couple of days to see whether he’ll be available for the game but we’re hopeful,” Stubbs continued.
“Greg’s [Halford] back in training so that’s good news. He’s got a good chance of being in the squad for Saturday."