Jordi Osei-Tutu made a surprising immediate return to the pitch over the weekend, shaking off an injury scare that had left him on crutches.

There were fears last week that Jordi Osei-Tutu’s season could be coming to an early end after yet another injury. The on-loan Arsenal defender was spotted on crutches wearing a protective boot, and his manager told the media it didn’t look good.

Yet all the updates since then have been very positive. Ahead of the weekend, Rotherham United boss Paul Warne had good news for the club website.

“The tackle (that left Osei-Tutu injured) weren’t great, was it?” Warne began. “But he’s had a scan [on Thursday], he’s got no break, which is great news.

“He’s obviously still got soreness, you can have bone bruising which feels like a break as well. We’re ever-hopeful that he’ll be available for this weekend.”

As it turned out, Osei-Tutu was available to start Saturday’s match. The Arsenal man played almost the entire game, only coming off in the 90th minute.

Rotherham secured a 1-0 win on the day, keeping them in the promotion places with four games to go. Securing promotion to the Championship and staying fit would be the perfect way for Osei-Tutu to end his spell with the club.

Having said that, Osei-Tutu has probably already had the highlight of his spell with Rotherham, as he scored a vital goal to help them pick up the EFL Trophy at Wembley.

The game didn’t immediately go to plan for Osei-Tutu or Rotherham, as he was named on the bench and former Arsenal academy product Craig Eastmond gave Sutton a 2-1 lead in the 48th minute.

But Osei-Tutu got his chance with 10 minutes to go, coming off the bench to try and rescue the match.

The Arsenal youngster did just that, scoring a dramatic 96th-minute goal to level things up.

Picking up a loose ball in the box on his right foot, Osei-Tutu pulled the ball into his path and onto his weaker left. He then powered a finish into the top corner, with the aid of a slight deflection, to send the Rotherham fans wild.

https://twitter.com/OfficialRUFC/status/1510935636760477700

The goal sent the game to extra time, in which Rotherham scored twice more to secure the trophy and the first medal of Osei-Tutu’s career.

“It’s probably the biggest highlight of my career so far,” Osei-Tutu said afterwards. “First of all, playing at Wembley, [in] such a good tournament.

“Credit to the boys, credit to Sutton as well for pushing us right until the end. I think the boys showed great determination and managed to pull through at the end.”

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It’s certainly a moment Osei-Tutu will remember, and a big positive after a difficult few years with injuries and disrupted loan spells.