Midfielder got minutes against Charlton – but Millwall boss stresses need for caution

BY DANIEL MARSH

Millwall manager Gary Rowett has warned of the need to be careful with young midfielder Billy Mitchell as he closes in on a return to the first-team fold.

The Lions academy graduate is yet to make an appearance this season following a bad hamstring injury in the summer. He then went on to re-injure himself just as he appeared to be on the verge of a return to action late last year.

Mitchell played 45 minutes in the under 23s’ 1-1 draw with Charlton on Monday as he continues to step up his recovery.

But it remains to be seen if he will be involved in the Lions matchday squad at Sheffield Wednesday on the weekend, with Rowett stressing the need for patience following Mitchell’s injury struggles.

“He’s been out for a long time and only been involved in one game. If you’ve been out for the best part of three months and come back and play 45 minutes in an U23s game, it’s a big ask to then go and step into the first-team.

“But what I will say is Billy looked good. He’s shown that if you work diligently enough when you’re out injured then you can come back in good physical shape. I don’t think it’ll be too long before we see Billy out there with us. But we’ve also got to be careful – he’s a young player that we value a lot, and he’s had two hamstring injuries so we have to make sure he doesn’t get another one.”