Key injury boost for Millwall ahead of Preston North End trip

Gary Rowett reckons Shaun Hutchinson should be back in the Millwall squad for the trip to Preston North End this upcoming Friday.

The 31-year-old centre-back has been out since the end of February when he suffered an injury in Millwall’s 1-0 win against Sheffield United.

The Lions kept their play-off hopes alive after an emphatic 4-1 win against Barnsley on Saturday.

“He was close to being in the squad today – he was gutted that he wasn’t in the squad,” said Rowett.

“I just felt as though we are in a position where we can wait with him and get him to train with the U23s this morning.

“Get him to train next week and be a little bit closer, and I’m pretty sure he will be back in the squad come the Preston game.

“He’s been out a while, and, whereas before, we were rushing people back because we had no players, now we’ve got quite a lot of players, and there’s no real need or desperation to do that.

“We’ve got to try and do that at the right time so they can stay fit for the rest of the season.”