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Millwall manager Gary Rowett hopes Tottenham loan officer Troy Parrott’s enthusiasm to impress in his competitive debut with the Lions will not cost him a long stint on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury.
In late August, Parrott was forced to withdraw from Stephen Kenny’s Ireland squad for the Nations League matches against Bulgaria and Finland after suffering a quadruple strain in a 3-0 win over Southend United in a friendly.
The 18-year-old started in Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at home to Burnley in the Carabao Cup, but struggled to make his mark against the Premier League club and had to be withdrawn at half-time.
“Troy got kicked in the ankle early on and he’s a young guy, desperate to play and he’s been devastated about getting injured because he wants to play,” Rowett said.
“You could see he was struggling movement wise. He probably should have come out (earlier) or probably should have. It doesn’t look very good, but we’ll see.
“Obviously it’s a big blow for us because we haven’t scored as many goals as we would like anyway and Troy was hired to give us that extra quality, but at the moment he hasn’t really been available.”
Parrott was looking to help Millwall beat Burnley for the first time since February 2012, when a goal by then loan-out Harry Kane inspired the South Londoners to a 3-1 victory.
“Even when he’s fighting, he wants to stay there, so everything he’s doing is for the right reasons, but he probably has to learn if the injury gets worse, he’ll be out longer.”
After being prolific at Tottenham’s academy, the once-international Irish international has played twice in the top flight, but was loaned out this season to gain more experience.
Lining up in the 10th role behind Matt Smith, Parrott was unable to control the ball as Burnley won the third-round tie thanks to goals from Josh Brownhill and Matej Vydra.
Rowett added: “He’s such an honest kid, he’s desperate to score goals and do well for us.
“And he has adapted brilliantly to the group and worked incredibly hard, making it more frustrating from his point of view.
“Even when he’s fighting, he wants to stay there, so everything he’s doing is for the right reasons, but he probably has to learn that if the injury gets worse, he’ll be out longer.
“He’s a brilliant kid and he’s disappointing we haven’t had him available so far, but I hope he’s not too serious and will be available soon.”
Republic of Ireland prospect Jimmy Dunne made sure Parrott and Smith kept quiet as he starred alongside Burnley rookie Bobby Thomas.
Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell also played a competitive game for the Clarets for the first time since arriving from Leeds last summer and impressed manager Sean Dyche.
“We like Bailey a lot and he’s developing physically. We thought he came in and he was too skinny, so he has gained a good volume,” Dyche said.
“The only reason he didn’t play in the last round was because after the lockout, Nick Pope didn’t play a lot of football.
“He went to England and we thought he might have a chance, but he didn’t play, so Bailey didn’t play the last round. We wanted to give Popey a competitive 90. We planned for Bailey to play at Millwall and he has done well.”
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