Why Doncaster Rovers boss isn’t looking too deep into injury situation as physio moves on

Luke Molyneux, Jon Taylor, Ollie Younger, Aidan Barlow and Reo Griffiths all suffered injuries during pre-season, while Ben Close has not played since November due to an IT band problem which required surgery.

A host of first-team players missed large parts of last season through injury with several of them unavailable for the entire campaign, which saw Rovers relegated from League One.

McSheffrey said: "Some of them are just freak ones; Reo Griffiths just rolls his ankle with no one around him on FC United’s pitch, Ollie Younger stretches for a ball and snaps his hamstring.

"It can happen anywhere, at any club.

"Jon Taylor has been out for a year and when you start training fully, playing games and kicking balls again, you have an ankle injury but you can get the odd quad strain or hamstring strain.

“How we’ve managed the injured players, especially since the summer, has been good."

McSheffrey, who was appointed as first-team manager in December, continued: “Some of them have just been unlucky – Luke Molyneux goes through one-on-one with the goalie against Rotherham and gets done.

"I’m not looking into anything, whatever happened before me happened. But since I’ve been here I know every player has been treated better – I like to think treated right – and given a voice.

"Hopefully in a few weeks we could be in a big place because we could get a few back.”

Molyneux and Taylor are closest to a return but still a few weeks away, McSheffrey said last week.

Last month Doncaster hired physiotherapist Michael McBride from Scunthorpe United following the completion of his six-month notice period.

Jonathan Chatfield left his role as Rovers’ head physiotherapist in July after three years in post, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The club had planned to work with two first-team physios but currently have just one in McBride, who is now heading up the department.

On Chatfield’s departute and whether he will be replaced, McSheffrey, who worked with McBride at Coventry City, said: "I’m not sure, that’s above me.

“I highlighted someone I wanted to bring in the building (McBride) then left it with the people and hierarchy above me.”