Millwall boss admits his one big relief after 1-0 victory over Sheffield United

Millwall manager Gary Rowett has expressed his relief at a fixture-free midweek after being hit with two more injury setbacks.

The Lions won 1-0 against Sheffield United today with Jake Cooper heading the decisive goal just after the hour mark.

But Mason Bennett went off early on with Rowett opting to go with midfielder George Evans rather than Benik Afobe, only just back on the bench after a spell out with a hamstring strain.

Shaun Hutchinson also hobbled off with a foot injury in the second period with Arsenal loanee Dan Ballard replacing the influential centre-back.

The Lions have eight senior players as injury doubts now with Maikel Kieftenbeld, Tom Bradshaw, Sheyi Ojo, Oliver Burke, Luke Freeman and Ryan Leonard also unavailable.

Rowett said: “And they all seem to be muscle injuries as well. They are not even impact injuries or injuries in games. Whether they are fatigue based…we’ve got a new pitch which is harder. You’re training on softer pitches and then you’re going on to harder pitches – some teams have had a little bit of a challenge within that.

“Some teams have had a challenge with injuries post-Covid, we don’t know the impact on the muscles.

“To see people going down again, I’ve got my head in my hands every time someone goes down because I know what it means. I know the cost of that and how difficult that is in the week’s ahead – because we haven’t got many players coming back in the next two or three weeks.

“I’m really thankful for a clear week. I would have put Benik on today but I just didn’t want to risk him.

“Our results have been fabulous. Our performances have been very different. Against QPR we played really, really well. Derby – we played well and then had to defend well. Today we probably generally had to just defend well for most of the game.

“To beat Sheffield United twice this season and keep a clean sheet here is a fabulous achievement and a massive effort. The players are going to need a bit of a breather after today.”