Birmingham v Rotherham United: Broadfoot has gone extra miles to show support

The Scotland international last played in April against Reading after earning his suspension following a verbal clash with Wigan’s James McClean in March.

But the 31-year-old centre-half is now free to face Birmingham today, and has been praised by Millers’ assistant manager Paul Raynor.

It would have been easy for the defender to sit and sulk, or take pre-season lightly, but Broadfoot has trained hard and even travelled to away games to support his team-mates.

Rayner said: “It’s been tough for him, because he’s a fighter and a scrapper. He wants to be out there. He’s been brilliant off the field.

“Obviously, he’s been frustrated to miss so many games. He wants to to be part of it.

“I’ve got to give him great credit – he’s been a real true professional off the pitch.

“He’s been coming to all the games. Even away games, he’s been asking if he can travel. That’s great. It just shows you the togetherness we’ve got in the squad.

“We’re delighted to have him available. He was probably one of our best players towards the end of last season and played a massive part in helping us stay up.

“I can’t really comment on the ban. It’s done now. He’s served his suspension. It’s been a long time for him.”

The Millers were able to boast a fully-fit roster this week with one notable exception.

Manager Steve Evans was forced to stay away from training on Thursday due to a virus, ahead of today’s trip to St Andrews. “There’s a clean bill of health for the players,” said Raynor.

“The gaffer was ill this morning, so we’re just erring on the side of caution and he’s staying away from the training ground to make sure he doesn’t contaminate any of the players.

“Hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing.

“We’ve got a full squad available, which is nice. We’ve not had that for pretty much all season.”