Rotherham United’s manager Steve Evans has casted a shadow over Dan Gore’s loan move to the League One club.
Gore, who made the temporary loan move to Rotherham at the end of the January transfer window, provided an assist on his debut against Birmingham City but was absent from Rotherham’s most recent fixture against Shrewsbury Town.
The youngster’s omission on Saturday was shrouded in mystery, having taken part in the pre-match media interviews on Friday expressing his excitement to play.
The Rotherham Advertiser reports that Gore pulled out due to a foot injury but the mystery remains with Evans commenting that it was “the strangest thing in the world.”
The Rotherham boss added “he worked for two days in the team and went home from training on Friday feeling good.”
“I got a call from the medical staff to say that he’d woken up with his foot really sore. I’ll pick up more of it tonight and tomorrow.”
“It’s unbelievable. We didn’t do enough in training for him to have a sore nose let alone a sore foot. Until I hear more from the medical staff as to how it’s happened and why it’s happened then it’s… maybe God will tell me when I go to sleep tonight.”
Evans’ comments raise some concern for Gore’s future at Rotherham as they pose more questions than answers. Publicly questioning the legitimacy of the injury suggests a less than ideal environment for the 20 year old.
The situation is eerily similar to the one he found himself in last season though.
Loaned to Port Vale last January, Gore made one appearance before picking up an undisclosed injury that kept him out for the remainder of the season.
Gore spent the first half of this season playing with the u21s after recovering from a surgery on his shoulder and looked to be back to his best with some stellar performances including those against senior opposition in Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale.
But time is running out for the 20 year old who can’t afford to waste another season.
The England youth international will hope that he can get past his injuries and clear the air with Steve Evans ahead of their meeting with Blackpool on Tuesday.
Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
