Exclusive: Millwall striker setback as Middlesbrough loanee suffers broken metatarsal

Millwall have been dealt a fresh injury blow with Josh Coburn set to be ruled out for around the next two months with a foot injury.

The Middlesbrough loanee came off at half-time in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Oxford United.

Coburn was replaced by Tom Bradshaw at the start of the second half.

Lions head coach Neil Harris told the South London Press: “Josh is ruled out for the forseeable future – after Christmas. He has got a broken metatarsal in his foot.

“He left the ground in a boot at the weekend, you know there is damage when that happens. It is probably a similar timeframe as Jake Cooper, you’re looking at probably both being eight weeks until they return.

“He is going to miss a large chunk of an important period of football. Josh, when he is on the pitch, showed in the first half his qualities as a Millwall number nine and his importance to the squad and why we were so desperate to bring him in, as a profile as a striker at the football club.

“It is a big loss but we have coped very well without him in the past and we will have to do in the future.”

Club captain Shaun Hutchinson was also an enforced change at Oxford.

Harris said: “Hutch is a hamstring injury. He is not going to be long. He is probably not going to make the weekend but it is low grade. He won’t make this weekend but there is an opportunity potentially to be available certainly next weekend.”

The one piece of good news is that Duncan Watmore has recovered from illness.

“He was really poorly last week and we had a lot of that in the training ground, like the nation has,” said Harris. “He couldn’t train or play. He is fine now and has completely got the all-clear from the medical staff.

“He is back into training today.”

PICTURE: BRIAN TONKS