Paul Warne talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Paul Warne says Rotherham United will wait on the fitness of captain Lee Frecklington ahead of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup clash with Oxford United, but says things are otherwise positive on the injury front.The Millers’ caretaker insists he won’t risk his skipper unnecessarily in the game against the U’s at the weekend, but says the former Peterborough United and Lincoln City man is still hoping to be fit in time for the third round tie.
“It's the same ankle and I think it's similar ligaments or there or thereabouts and he's got a bit of a dead leg and some ligament damage,” Warney explained.
“He didn't train today [Thursday] but he is still really hopeful for the weekend so we'll re-evaluate him again tomorrow morning and he'll go for a little run and see how he feels.
“I know what Frecks is like and he always wants to play which is a good thing, but because he's got a little bit of a history in there, I'll probably err on the side of caution and it might come a day or two too soon for him.”
The interim boss continued to explain that other than Lee Camp, who he confirmed is likely to miss the remainder of the season through injury yesterday, he has a clean bill of health in the Rotherham United ranks.
“I've got no other injury news,” Warne enthused.
“A couple of players have got fatigue but they will do if they run around, so there's no issue with that.
“We had a good session today [Thursday] with them in the sun and we'll do possession and team shape with them on Friday but I've got no other injuries, so we're looking good.”
Meanwhile, Kirk Broadfoot is expected to feature in some capacity against Michael Appleton’s side after making his return to first team action against Leeds United last weekend and Warne is happy to be patient with a player he believes can make a big impact.
“It's like having a new signing back really, so it's a good boost for the team,” he continued.
“He needs games obviously and you can't judge how good he is yet.
“The more games he plays, the better he'll get. He's a big part of this team and he's a big personality. He's good for me to have on the pitch but I said to him before the game I thought he'd only last 60 minutes.
“Realistically it's like the first pre-season game for him because he's been out for so long. To last as long as he did was good and I should have probably taken him off 10 minutes previous, but he was still adrenaline-juiced so he thought he could play on."