Millwall defender Hutchinson unlikely to face former club Fulham at The Den tomorrow
Shaun Hutchinson looks set to miss the visit of his former club Fulham tomorrow night – with the Millwall centre-back set for a scan today on his quad injury.
The 30-year-old Geordie sat out the 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers at The Den at the weekend.
And Lions boss Gary Rowett is set to find out the full extent of Hutchinson’s issue this week.
“I imagine Hutchy is going to be a doubt. I think he’ll go for a scan tomorrow [Monday],” Rowett told the South London Press yesterday. “ We don’t think it is anything too serious but we don’t want to risk him this early in the season and end up with him out for a long time.
“It’s obviously a blow that he’s unavailable at the moment and disappointing it happened so close to the game.
“He felt his quad on Friday and pulled out of the training session midway through as a precaution.
“He still felt his quad on Saturday but felt a lot better. He went outside at the training ground and did a little bit of fitness test and pitched it still at about 70 or 80 per cent running.
“If you remember previously he had his calf issue where he felt something, played on and ended up pulling his calf and being out for six weeks. It’s probably in the back of Hutchy’s mind to make sure rather than keep playing.
“The scan will tell us a little bit more Monday and we’ll have a clearer picture.
“Hutchy is an influential player for us, one of our most important players over the two years we’ve been here. We don’t want him to be out for a long time by rushing him into something when we’re not sure what it is.
“Maikel [Kieftenbeld] was a little bit tight after the [Blackburn] game with his calf. It will be more fatigue-based with one or two of the others, whether they can go three games in a week on the back of a pre-season – it might mean we need to freshen up one or two areas.
“I’ll know a little bit more once I’ve seen the players train. We’re going to need energy against Fulham, because they are a good side.
