Fresh agony for luckless ex-Portsmouth favourite after nightmare comeback game
The 31-year-old’s time at Rotherham has been injury-plagued so far
Sean Raggett’s Rotherham agony has continued with a nightmare return on his latest injury comeback.
While the central defender may be a popular figure at Fratton Park, he has featured just 19 times since joining the Millers in May 2024.
A succession of injuries have restricted the 31-year-old’s involvement with the League One club, yet on Tuesday night he was granted a rare appearance after recovering from a quad problem.
Handed a starting spot in a Vertu Trophy clash at Salford, Raggett’s involvement would last just 45 minutes, however.
He was hauled off at half-time along with fellow centre-half Thomas Holmes after a poor defensive showing from the Millers against their League Two hosts.
Gifted Salford a goal
It was Raggett who gifted Salford a seventh-minute lead when he intercepted a cross from the right, dribbled towards his own goal, before attempting to clear, only to instead pass it to Nicolas Siri to score.
Although Rotherham led 3-2 at half-time, it didn’t stop boss Matt Hamshaw substituting both his central defenders, replacing them with ex-Pompey man Joe Rafferty and Reece James.
It certainly tightened up the visitors, who went on to register a thumping 7-2 success, with Josh Benson grabbing a hat-trick, to progress in the competition.
Yet it was another disappointing evening for Raggett, with many Rotherham fans on social media turning on the League One title-winner who just cannot catch a break at the moment.
‘How we defended was very disappointing’
‘Obviously, we rectified things. It was difficult conditions. The pitch isn't amazing. However, I thought the boys conducted themselves very well in the second half.’
The trip to Salford represented Raggett’s eighth outing of the season - and his first appearance since the end of October.
Following his Fratton Park release after winning the League One title in 2023-24, he joined Steve Evans’ ambitious Rotherham along with Joe Rafferty in the summer of 2024.
However, in his maiden campaign, Raggett managed just 11 appearances after undergoing two knee operations, with his season over by February.
He returned in August, but it has been another fitful campaign for the defender, who has yet to prove his true worth to fans of the South Yorkshire club.
239 appearances for Pompey
In contrast, Raggett barely missed a match through injury during his five seasons on the south coast after initially arriving on loan from Norwich in the summer of 2019.
On three occasions he registered more than 50 appearances in a campaign, while featured 44 times during the League One title win, having regained his place following injuries to Regan Poole and Tom McIntyre.
Indeed, with 239 outings and 17 goals for the Blues, Raggett has represented the club more times than any other player during the 21st Century.
Now aged 31, he is out of contract at Rotherham in the summer after signing a two-year deal.
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