Millwall boss Kenny Jackett has denied Zak Whitbread rejected the chance to join Huddersfield on loan last week.

The American defender has made no secret of his desire to quit The Den and only an untimely hip injury prevented him joining a Championship side in the summer.

Whitbread isn’t expected to return to full fitness until early in the new year, but this didn’t put the Terriers off from trying to sign him up on a temporary basis ahead of last Thursday’s loan window closing.

It was initially reported Whitbread had snubbed Millwall’s League One promotion rivals, but Jackett was keen to put the record straight when asked by News Shopper this morning.

“We basically ran out of time unfortunately and it certainly isn’t the case Zak rejected Huddersfield or isn’t interested,” the Lions chief said.

“He is working well now and it was only loan deals last week as well, so quite obviously with him having turned a contract offer down here, there are possibilities of him moving on in January.

“It looks like December is going be a good month in terms of training for Zak and the timing is right with the January window coming up.

“We’ve had a number of clubs express an interest in Zak and we will have to see what the business side of it all is in January.

“I wouldn’t know exactly where he is going to end up because obviously Zak will have a big say in it as well.

“We are open to him moving on and us doing the best for our club.

“He is very pleased with his hip and how it is going now.”

Whitbread initially said in the summer he wanted to leave Millwall to play at a club higher up than League One, so last week’s potential link-up with Huddersfield came as a surprise to Millwall’s fans.

However, Jackett said it was no shock to him and added the only thing which matters is to get the best price for the player when the window opens next month.

“What he said in the summer to me was he wanted to play in the Championship, but you can’t be surprised by things in football,” he explained.

“From our point of view he has turned down a contract, he is not in our plans and January will be an ideal plan for him to move on.

“But it is also very important from our point of view the deal is a good business one for Millwall.”