Ben Wiles: Rotherham United sweating on possible season-ending surgery for influential midfielder

The vice-captain picked up the injury in the first half of the Boxing Day draw with Stoke City and an initial scan does not look promising but the Millers are waiting to learn the full extent.

"There's serious damage to his ankle," confirmed manager Matt Taylor. "He'll see a specialist next week to see what needs to be done in relation to surgery.

"It's a real shame for the lad. We've got to make sure we support him for how ever long it takes him to get back on to the pitch.

"It could be the end of his season if he requires surgery, and it looks like he does. We're waiting to see if there is bone damage on top of the significant ligament damage. It's more than one ligament as well.

"There was no-one near him. He landed in an unfortunate manner. We felt we were near to getting him in the peak form he'd shown previously.

"It's a major blow for us, we can't hide away from that fact. He gives us flexibility, he gives us something different in terms of our midfield dynamic."

The news comes ahead of Thursday's huge Yorkshire derby at Huddersfield Town.

The Terriers are still adrift at the bottom of the Championship but after their Boxing Day win at Preston North End they are looking to draw Rotherham and others deeper into the relegation battle.

Rotherham are two points above the bottom three going into the final round of matches for 2022, but a Town win would cut the gap between the two clubs to two points.