Rotherham United: Boss Paul Warne vows to keep close eye on Jamie Proctor after season-ending injury

Proctor went under the knife earlier this month to repair a hip injury and he will not play again this campaign.

It is the second successive season which has been ruined for the 26-year-old following a serious knee injury last August which kept him out for 12 months.

Warne was credited with playing a major role in keeping Proctor's spirits up last season, allowing him to lead the side out at Wembley for the play-off final and he is again planning to keep him involved.

Warne said: “He is a bit down in the dumps. We do text him quite a bit.

“The first couple of weeks, he's just going to have rehab. We've organised for a physio to be over there with him instead of him being in the car for four hours or so with a sore hip.

“The physios touch base with him all the time. We've given him some stuff to read and we want him to try to stay upbeat but it is is hard for him.

“It is hard for a footballer who doesn't play. It's really tough.”

Proctor, who was handed a new long-term contract earlier this season, has managed 18 appearances this season, but only four of them have been starts.

“It's different if you've got an injury and you're in and around the training camp,” Warne added.

“You see the lads all the time. But when you're out the the way he's been out ... he's just been hugely unlucky. I really feel for him.

“The other week Joe Newell had done all his work in the gym and then came and stood beside me at the side of the training pitch.

“I was like, 'What are you doing out here?'. He went, 'I just get lonely'. And they do.

“They're just human beings, bless them. They're used to a group environment. They're team players. “When you're on your own and you do your rehab, it's tough.”

Warne will be spending most of Thursday trying to bring in a replacement for Proctor before the transfer deadline shuts at 11pm.

The Millers, who signed midfielder Matt Crooks earlier in the window, are hoping to add another striker and a wide man in the bid to help stave off Championship relegation.