Brian Barry-Murphy is facing a lengthy road to recovery after snapping his achilles in Wednesday night’s Checkatrade Trophy tie against Hartlepool United.
The 38-year-old requires surgery and is expected to have nine months of rehabilitation ahead of him.
Manager Keith Hill commented: “Brian is very level-headed and very mature. He’s very well thought of around the club and in the changing rooms, and it’s sad that he has been injured.
“But I think that he’ll will agree with me that it couldn’t have come at a better time in his career. I’m sure he would have preferred it to have happened to him rather than the likes of Aaron Morley because he’s at a different stage in his career.
“He’s very much part of the coaching staff and he’ll remain a part of the coaching staff [during his recovery], as well as still pursuing the important part of his playing career.
“He’s got a foot boot on and he’s still actively mobile - in fact, he has come into training today, and he’ll have surgery as soon as he possibly can.”
The full interview is on Dale PlayerHD.