Millwall midfielder George Saville’s omission from Luton Town match fully explained

Gary Rowett has revealed that George Saville missed Millwall’s 2-2 draw with Luton as a precaution following the club’s intense run of fixtures.

Tom Bradshaw and Jamie Shackleton were both substituted after feeling muscle strains on Tuesday night, while Shackleton’s midfield partner Ryan Leonard also struggled after starting his first match following a long injury lay-off.

Leonard was drafted into the side in place of Saville, who missed out on the squad entirely due to a tight calf. Rowett decided not to risk the Northern Ireland international, who was eager to participate.

Rowett said: “Sav’s calves were really, really right, so again it’s just fatigue. I had a really good chat with him. He wanted to get out, but a bit like Bradders the other day, you just can’t afford to lose players for longer than three, four or five weeks.

“It’s another game, again, we give ourselves an opportunity to win and bring people in and make changes. Lenny came in today and did really well. Again, his challenge – and the same with Shacks – is they haven’t played for so long, can they go again three days later? That’s what we’ll [try and] do.

“We’ve got other players desperate to play and you’ve got to use your squad – it’s just our squad is probably a little bit smaller than other squads!”