Rotherham United captain Joe Rafferty will miss the next few days after picking up a painful back injury in training. The 32-year-old defender was forced to watch from the is his side drew 3-3 with Salford City at the AESSEAL New York Stadium on Tuesday.
Head coach Alex Bruce confirmed the skipper took a knee to the lower back during a session at the Millers' Roundwood training base. "He took a nasty bang on Tuesday," Bruce told the Rotherham Advertiser. "He took a knee to the lower back. It’s an impact injury and he's got quite a lot of bruising."
Bruce expects the problem to be short-term, stating the captain could return for the League Two trip to Northampton Town this Saturday. "It should be only a few days," the boss said. Rafferty was not named in the matchday 18 for the Salford game, watching instead from the West Stand with his family.
In his absence, and with midfielders Jamie Jellis and Kian Spence also recovering from calf issues, other players have stepped forward. Bruce praised the contributions of Brandon Cover, Ossama Ashley, Josh Austerfield, and Jayce Fitzgerald in the engine room. "The players who have come in have all turned up and had a go," he said.
Cover scored Rotherham's first goal in the 3-3 draw, with Paul Mullin and Ashley also on target in a game that leaves the Millers 16th in the table with six points from six matches.
Rafferty, now in his third season at the club, has made one start and three substitute appearances in the league this term. Jellis, who played on the opening day at Cheltenham, has missed the last five games, while Spence has been absent for the last two. The next challenge for Bruce's side is a home game against Port Vale on 9 January.
