Rotherham United send loanee back to Manchester United for treatment and concentrate on experienced midfielder

Kelly was part of the travelling squad for Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Reading, but a combination of a virus and a calf injury saw him miss the cut when it was whittled down to 18.

Gore picked up an injury one substitute appearance into his loan spell from the Red Devils.

The 20-year-old suffered a hairline fracture to a bone in his foot, but heading back to Manchester should give him a better chance of returning sooner. The hope is that he will be back early next month.

"I think that four full-time doctors and eight physios tells you where he should be!" said manager Steve Evans of the attention he will get at the country's biggest football club.

"We've done that with other loan players in the past. Their progress is quicker because they have more medical back-up on hand. He's in a good place there."

Evans perhaps did not help the youngster by revealing he had trained without a problem the day before the 2-1 home defeat to Shrewsbury Town, only to feel it on matchday having initially been named in the team.

"The medical people say you can have a delayed reaction to it," said Evans. "It's unusual for that to happen but it can happen. We have to accept that."

A quad injury cut short Gore's first loan, at Port Vale, after just one game.

"I saw how much the kid was hurting when he heard he was going to be out for that four-week period or so," said Evans.

"The reaction was genuine, he wants to play. I'm an experienced manager. You get a gut feeling about these things.

"He's at the stage where – in the words of the coaching staff at Manchester United – he needs to be playing."

Kelly appears to have suffered a reaction to his first appearance of 2025, at Blackpool last week. Illness compounded the 35-year--old's problems but it is the calf issue which will threaten his involvement against the Reds.

"He just felt his calf at the end of training on Friday and then he woke up this morning with a little virus and not feeling particularly well," said Evans.

"The calf probably comes from a really strenuous shift at Blackpool."