Rovers manager Darren Ferguson is relieved Tom Anderson suffered only a broken cheekbone after colliding with goalkeeper Marko Marosi during Saturday’s game at Rotherham United.
The centre-back, on loan from Premier League side Burnley, will be out of action for four-to-six weeks and was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. Ferguson feared Anderson’s injuries could have been even worse.
“It is a very serious injury and we thought that he might have fractured his eye socket as well, but thankfully he hasn’t, it is a bad injury but it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
“When you see it back you can see that Marko has caught him quite badly, the striker has nudged him and obviously put him into Marko.
“He is a tough boy and he will get on with it, that’s just how he is. He has gone back to Burnley for the operation as they will get the operation through quicker and we will keep in contact with him throughout.
Ferguson has also been dealt a blow with news midfielder Alfie Beestin will spend around eight-weeks on the sidelines as he recovers from ankle ligament damage suffered in the same game.
“I’m really disappointed for Alfie because he has made himself a real fixture in this team, we have pulled him back to the midfield role and he has done really well there,” he added.
“It is a real blow for the boy, I think a lot of people at first thought it might have been a break because it was a strong tackle, although it wasn’t a malicious tackle at all.
“Woods has just come through him and took the lot really, luckily it isn’t a break and it is ligament damage, but it is quite bad ligament damage, similar to Issam Ben Khemis’ injury.”