THREE Millwall players are set to miss today’s FA Cup clash against Leicester City because of injury.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Murray Wallace and Shaun Hutchinson have all picked up knocks after the rush of fixtures over the Christmas period and will now be absent.
Norton-Cuffy is out with a knee issue, Wallace has a groin strain while Hutchinson’s problem concerns his calf. Manager Joe Edwards expects them all to be out for at least “a couple of weeks” with club captain Hutchinson potentially “a little bit longer.”
It’s a major blow for Millwall who had found their feet in recent weeks, recording a trio of wins over Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Bristol City after Christmas.
Norton-Cuffy and Wallace had both been in impressive form while Hutchinson was the star man and match winner in the victory over the Robins on New Year’s Day.
Norton-Cuffy has also started 21 of the 23 games he’s been available for, has appeared in every match since his debut in August’s 1-0 win over Stoke City and was the only player to have started every match in Edwards’ 11 games in charge.
In better news for Millwall, Wes Harding is now available to play after he overcame a hamstring issue that kept him out of the last two games.
Speaking at his virtual pre-match press conference, Edwards said: “Wes is back and trained so he is available for selection on Saturday.
“But we’ve picked up some new ones. Shaun Hutchinson, Murray Wallace and Brooke Norton-Cuffy will all be out of the Leicester game. I think they’ll all be out for a couple of weeks, to be honest. I think out of the three of those, Hutch’s is likely to be a little bit longer than Murray and Brooke.
“I don’t think any of them are overly serious. But yeah it’s the cost of the fixture pile-up I think, it just caught up with us.
“And I think the manner of it, when you reel off the players like I just have, they all did finish the game [against Bristol City] although Brooke came off, which was just a substitution from my point of view because I thought he looked a bit tired and Danny McNamara could go on and freshen it up for us.
“But Hutch and Murray finished the game so it kind of gives you a bit of telltale what those injuries are. They were all on the pitch, walked in the dressing room feeling fine but then the next day it comes at a cost. They’re now out which is a shame particularly for Hutch with the way he performed and got the goal at the end.
“It looked like it would be a good chance for him to start building some momentum, which is a real shame. Murray I thought was excellent as well in that game and the Norwich game. But it gives others in the squad an opportunity but it’s a shame that that four-game run has come at a bit of a cost for us.”
Casper De Norre remains out with injury while George Saville serves the second of his three game suspension.
