Alex Neil confirms big Millwall boost ahead of key Hull City & Ipswich Town games | OneFootball

The Southampton loanee has been out of action since October

Millwall have had to deal with numerous injury issues in midfield throughout the campaign, yet it hasn't stopped them from mounting an unlikely promotion charge.

The Lions haven't finished in the top six of the second tier since the 2001/02 campaign, but Alex Neil has Millwall aiming even higher than that, as they sit four points off the top two with 11 games remaining.

The only players at the Den to have started in at least 27 of their 35 league games thus far are defensive duo Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper, and striker Mihailo Ivanovic. Evidently, Alex Neil hasn't had a consistent midfield pack to rely on throughout the campaign.

Casper De Norre has had multiple spells on the sidelines this season, similarly with Billy Mitchell and Luke Cundle, while Massimo Luongo suffered an ACL injury in October, ruling him out for the rest of the campaign.

Also in October, Southampton loanee Will Smallbone went down with a hamstring injury and has been missing ever since. However, that layoff is set to be over soon, as the Irishman should be set for a return in the coming weeks.

Alex Neil delivers positive Will Smallbone injury update

While Smallbone's absence hasn't stopped Millwall from mounting a promotion push this season, the experience that the 26-year-old has in a promotion-winning side at St Mary's wouldn't go amiss.

Therefore, the injury update that the Lions boss gave to NewsAtDen, via Southwark News, will give them a big boost.

"Will's going to get some under-21 minutes today [vs Cardiff City], so it'll be a good sort of step in his recovery," he said.

"He's trained fully now for a good part of a week and a half. I'm hoping that Will should be involved shortly.

"He's an excellent player at this level. He can play a variety of different roles as well. It's just about getting him up to speed as quickly as we can, and then we've obviously got decisions to make."

Millwall are the clear underdogs in this promotion race, and some critics are expecting them to run out of steam, with the likes of Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town expected to be battling for the top two come the end of April and into May.

However, it doesn't get recognised that the Lions are in this position despite missing key players, and have missed them since the early stages of the campaign. Their imminent returns will help them maintain their place in the race.

Smallbone was seen as a real coup for Millwall in the summer, as the 26-year-old played in all but three of the 49 games that Southampton played in the Championship, plus the play-offs, two seasons ago when the Saints went up under Russell Martin.

He scored seven times, including in the play-off semi-final win over West Brom, and set up Adam Armstrong for the only goal of the game in the Wembley win over Leeds United.

His presence was forecast to help Millwall become a side capable of finishing in the top six, having finished eighth and ninth in three of the last four seasons. However, upon his return, he may be called on to help the Lions perhaps secure the unlikeliest of second-placed finishes.

Millwall have won four of their last five, and go into a four-game stretch now, before the international break, where they face two of their fellow top-six sides (Hull on March 7th, Ipswich on March 21st), and then that bleeds into a trip to Middlesbrough on Good Friday in the first game back.

If the Lions can get Smallbone up to speed to play a part in some of those big battles at the top, he could help them to big wins, which will ultimately put them in contention to still be in the promotion race come the beginning of May.