Millwall manager Neil Harris believes Michael Obafemi has further “five to ten percent” to give after the Burnley loanee completed his second consecutive 90-minute outing before the international break.
The Republic of Ireland international has scored once in eight Championship appearances since moving to The Den.
However, Obafemi’s minutes had to be restricted when he suffered an injury and a lack of game time with the Clarets before going on loan.
Millwall’s rotation options at the sharp end of the pitch were hampered by the injuries of Tom Bradshaw and Kevin Nisbet, the former of whom may now return before the conclusion of the season.
However, Obafemi went the distance in the 2-0 loss to Leeds United last Saturday.
Ireland plays friendly against Belgium today and Switzerland on Tuesday.
When asked if Obafemi appears to be becoming stronger and sharper with each match, Harris told the South London Press: “He does – and I was really impressed with how he got into the game.
“We threw several quicker balls forward, which he almost caught at the conclusion of the first half. When he increased his pace, he gained confidence.
“In the second half, we played into him more and took better care of the ball; we found him in some really fantastic places around the box. He appeared to be a really dynamic centre-forward who was at around 90% last weekend. Michael still has another five to ten percent to come.
“A fit Michael Obafemi scored a few goals against Leeds. That’s where we’ve had to build him up and be extremely grateful – the goal was that we’d have at least two centre-forwards available to split the workload and assist him increase his workload, but we haven’t been in that position.
“We have built up him patiently to playing 97 minutes the other day so that when he comes back from international duty with the Republic of Ireland he is fit to go and feels in an even better place – not only has he got the minutes in his legs but the sharpness as well.”
