Will Grigg

Perhaps it’s the striker’s recent run of form or antics of other forwards at the club. But one thing is for certain, the long injury lay off for Will Grigg has definitely got some of the Millers fans worried for the coming weeks.

Turn back the clocks to the start of January and everything seemed peachy at Rotherham. Smith was in fine goal scoring form and his seemingly perfect partnership with Ladapo had helped Rotherham on their charge to summit of league one. However this would be short lived with Ladapo’s transfer request coming as a shock to both club and fines alike. Cue the run of disappointing results that saw the Millers drop from top of the league down to third. Now third position on paper doesn’t look so bad, however teams around them were picking up points and Wigan had several games in hand to boot. It was at this time that the manager turned to Freddie and asked him to basically put himself in the shop window (aiding Rotherham’s promotion bid at the same time). January came and went (unlike Ladapo) and Rotherham had refound their mojo that had earlier in the season saw them go on a 20+ undefeated streak. But it wasn’t Ladapo who had found his form… it was the “bit-part” player Will Grigg. 

When Rotherham signed Grigg, they were expecting a 20+ goal a season striker that had fired Wigan Athletic up the football league. However, what they had found was a striker who had so much more to his game. Great hold up play, clever movement and a player willing to do the dirty work so that Smith could continue to threaten Richie Barker and his famous Alan Shearer jersey. Roll on to the middle of February and with the team seemingly settled they were dealt with a huge blow. Grigg pulling up and scans revealing an injury lay-off that could last up to 8 weeks. Rotherham are a team with plenty of strength in depth, however none of the back up brigade bring the same as Grigg to the table. Ladapo will always be a selfish player wanting to score himself, Kayode is still learning his trade and Kelly is just returning to fitness after finishing his season in Ireland back in November. Grigg’s injury could not have come at a worse time, with a South Yorkshire derby and a huge game vs Wigan coming up.

Who will the Millers turn to in their bid to remain at the top of League One and clinch promotion back into the Championship?