Dan Gore is set to make his first appearance of 2026 on Tuesday in a major boost to Rotherham United.
The midfielder is on loan from Manchester United, and the Millers have not won a League One match he has not started this season, or any match he has not played some part in.
So to have him available for the visit of Northampton Town, four points above them in the table, is a huge positive.
The Millers have not won in the league since November 8, but did at least end an eight-match losing streak in all competitions with Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Wimbledon.
FIT AGAIN: Rotherham United midfielder Dan Gore (right) (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)placeholder image
FIT AGAIN: Rotherham United midfielder Dan Gore (right) (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
It was a match manager Matt Hamshaw felt they should have won, and one he pointed to as a benchmark for the next game.
Gore has not appeared since injuring his groin in the 4-0 defeat at Blackpool on December 29.
Hamshaw has always asked to be judged when he has a full squad available, and only Denzel Hall seems certain to be missing against the Cobblers. The wing-back is due to be out until the spring with a hamstring injury.
That said, midfielder Kian Spence, wing-back Marvin Kaleta and striker Sam Nombe all came off with cramp against Wimbledon and will need to be assessed.
STRIKER LIGHT: Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw wants another centre-forward (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)placeholder image
STRIKER LIGHT: Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw wants another centre-forward (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
“I'm fully confident that when we get everybody back and we've hopefully added to our options in these last few days of the window we'll be in a better place,” said Hamshaw, who is in the market for a striker and a wing-back before the February 2 transfer deadline and is prepared to let players to go to make those deals happen.
"I think you saw for 65 minutes (against Wimbledon) what we are capable of when we have a (strong) team on the pitch.
"I understood the frustration at the end but we just needed that second goal.
"We’re trying to bring another striker in and I think that (need) was quite evident.
"On Tuesday we have to make sure that we start the game like that 25-minute second period.”
Centre-back Emmanuel Adegboyega, signed permanently from Norwich City last week, could make a debut.
Northampton have picked up two points from their last six league games.