STUART TUCK is out of Brian Horton's first away match as Albion manager at Rotherham tonight, and probably for the rest of the season.

The leftback suffered a recurrence of groin trouble during Saturday's 3-2 victory over Chester. The injury-plagued Tuck joins Jeff Minton (ankle), Robbie Reinelt (knee) and Derek Allan (thigh) on the casualty list. A specialist is expected to confirm tomorrow that he will need surgery, which will sideline him from the Seagulls' last 11 games. Physio Malcolm Stuart said: "There is every chance he will miss the rest of the season. He had thorough tests when he first had the condition. "We sent him to a specialist at Shrewsbury who gave him two choices, a course of injections or an operation. "Tucky had the injections, but the pain has started coming on again over the last month. If he needs the operation it will need to be done fairly quickly to get him back for the start of next season." Tuck's place for the trip to Millmoor goes to the fit-again Michael Mahoney-Johnson as Horton plumps for an attack-minded squad in a bid to end the Seagulls' sequence of six away defeats in a row. Striker Mahoney has recovered from a back-related hamstring injury and he will now complete his month on loan from Queens Park Rangers. Horton has already noticed a different mood in the players following the Chester triumph, Albion's first this year, which increased the cushion over relegation rivals Doncaster to ten points. "That win has perked them up," he said. "They were much livelier in training yesterday. "Rotherham are going well and Ronnie Moore has done a good job there. It will be a tough game for us, but we can go into it with a bit of confidence." Horton knows all about the threat posed by Rotherham's 15-goal top scorer Lee Glover. He had the former Nottingham Forest forward on loan last season when he was in charge at Huddersfield. Rotherham (from): Mimms; Clark, Dillon, Hurst, Garner, Monington, Knill, Berry, Thompson, Richardson, Druce, Glover, Roscoe, Hudson, Poric. Albion (from): Ormerod; Smith, Mayo, Linger, Hobson, Johnson, Storer, Mahoney-Johnson, Westcott, Ansah, Barnes. Subs: Barker, Saul, Armstrong. Rotherham spotlight: Page 32.

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