Doncaster Rovers: Gills injury nightmare has knocked us out of our stride - Ferguson

Darren Ferguson says the four injuries Doncaster Rovers picked up on a problematic day against Gillingham last month has jolted their fluency.
Nathan TysonNathan Tyson
Nathan Tyson

Nathan Tyson and Harry Middleton both picked up hamstring strains in the warm-up before Andy Butler and Cameron Stewart went off injured later in the game.

A power cut before kick-off had left both teams unsure if, and at what time, the game would go ahead.

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Rovers were riding on the crest of a wave after wins at Oldham and Southend and an excellent performance against Stoke City in the FA Cup.

They recovered from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the Gills but have now failed to win in their last five games.

Ferguson said: “I’m not one for making excuses about injuries because you have to carry injuries.

“But I think if most teams in this league lose three or four regulars when they’re doing well I think they would suffer.

“Maybe it has hurt us a bit more than I thought it would.

“To lose four in one game is quite unusual,” he added.

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“It’s nearly half your outfield team and when they’re playing consistently well that makes a difference.

“I’m not saying the other squad can’t do it but the consistency that we had, we’ve lost a little bit maybe because of that.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we get back to the levels of consistency that we had. Let’s get it right, it was always going to be really difficult to maintain that sort of consistency.

“But when you’ve got consistent people playing in consistent positions with consistent formations and all of a sudden four of them leave, within one game, the Gillingham game, that is going to have an impact on any team in this league.”