Huddersfield Town chief Andre Breitenreiter makes Rhys Healey admission ahead of crunch Championship game with Millwall plus reveals Bojan Radulovic boost

ANDRE BREITENREITER has stressed that Huddersfield Town forward Rhys Healey is not yet ready to start matches as he continues to ease back in after a groin injury.
Leon Wobschall
By Leon Wobschall
Published 5th Apr 2024, 06:00 BST

Healey has had cameos from the bench in the Terriers’ last two games and scored in the 3-1 home loss to Coventry City on Good Friday.

But while fellow January arrival Bojan Radulovic, who netted in Monday’s draw at Stoke, is available to start from the off, it is different for the ex-Watford striker.

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Breitenreiter, whose side face a huge survival six-pointer at home to Millwall on Saturday, said: “Rhys trained for maybe ten days with the team. You can see he is maybe ready for 30 minutes but not more.

Huddersfield Town's Rhys Healey after scoring his side's goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Coventry at the John Smith's Stadium. Picture: Ian Hodgson/PA Wire.Huddersfield Town's Rhys Healey after scoring his side's goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Coventry at the John Smith's Stadium. Picture: Ian Hodgson/PA Wire.
Huddersfield Town's Rhys Healey after scoring his side's goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Coventry at the John Smith's Stadium. Picture: Ian Hodgson/PA Wire.

"He accepts his position as a substitute. When the game is open and maybe the opponents are also tired, it is much easier for him to come on the pitch. It’s absolutely normal after such a long time with the injury.

"We all wish he could play as a starter, but at this moment, it is not possible and not intelligent.

"It was the first step for Bojan and really good to see (on Monday). His performances in the training sessions deserved a goal in Stoke.

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"To be honest, you can see a totally different player on the training pitch and you could see after the goal, he was so happy and maybe now he is free.

"We have some good options and need good options for the rest of the season to bring the best players and then have the same quality with the substitutions. This is really important for me as a head coach.”

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Danny Ward could be in contention for a place on the bench on Saturday, but Town must make do without midfielders Jack Rudoni and Jonanthan Hogg, with Breitenreiter having to ‘find solutions’ in the middle of the park.

Rudoni will miss out with a hamstring problem which he has been managing in the past week or so.

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Breitenreiter added:: "Jack Rudoni is a little bit of a surprise for me. He experienced (on Wednesday) that he felt not so good in the last 10 to 12 days, but he played in the last two games. But he feels no better and he decided that it’s better to take a break and he is not available on Saturday."

Related topics:MillwallTerriersStokeCoventry City