Leyton Orient v Rotherham United: Steve Evans demands more from Mallik Wilks

Wilks first caught Evan's eye when he was a youngster at Leeds United, then in League One. Eight years on, the forward is still at third-tier level, albeit on loan.

It is a division he has excelled in with Doncaster Rovers and Hull City, but one a player of his talent should be beyond at the age of 25.

Wilks, whose only first-team appearance for Leeds came as an FA Cup substitute, has played in the Championship for Barnsley, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday, but the Owls loaned him to Rotherham for 2024-25.

On Tuesday the Millers play Leyton Orient for the first time since beating them on penalties in the 2014 League One play-off final in Evans' first spell. Others must step up with Clarke-Harris ruled out for around three weeks with a hamstring problem, and Wilks is certainly one.

He has shown flashes of what he is capable of for the Millers, including a brilliant goal at Peterborough United recently. But only flashes. It was just his second of the campaign.

"He's a gifted player but we need more of it," said Evans. "We had a 45-minute performance at Peterborough that made a really good player, Jack Sparkes, look a poor player. He's a really good player but Mallik was on fire, particularly for that second 30 minutes of the first half.

"At the start of the second half a bad touch stopped him getting the opportunity to score a goal, he got a silly booking and we're thinking, 'We have to be careful here' with good wide players against him and attacking full-backs so we made the decision to bring Mallik off.

"But he's a real talent."

Meanwhile, Bolton Wanderers have alerted Rotherham to the fact their November 16 home league game could be postponed because of international call-ups.

A final decision will have to wait on the relevant international squads, but so far this season the Trotters have opted to postpone both matches which have fallen in international breaks, and are keen to keep supporters informed.