Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has confirmed that he has ‘seven starters’ unavailable for this weekend’s meeting with Leeds United, but Darragh Lenihan will return to offer the home side a significant boost.  

Lenihan didn’t feature in the defeat to Barnsley last time out, with Mowbray citing personal issues for his absence, which means he will be able to return against Leeds.

The return of the 26-year-old combats an extensive absent list, which is headlined by Bradley Dack and the suspended Ben Brereton.

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Discussing his injury list, Mowbray told Blackburn’s official website: “We’ve got seven starters unavailable to us at the moment. Corry Evans came back, scored a great goal against Bristol City and broke his toe in that game.

“So your midfield that dominated against Bristol City were both unavailable for us in midweek.

“Your top scorer in Bradley Dack has been unavailable for us for quite a while, whilst Darragh Lenihan had a family issue this week that saw him not play at Barnsley.

“Darragh’s never not been okay. He had a family issue he had to deal with so Darragh will be back.”

Another slight boost Blackburn could be in-line with is the potential availability of Lewis Travis, who could shake-off his own setback ahead of a meeting with the Championship leaders.

Leeds are pushing for a Premier League return for the first time since 2004, whilst Blackburn are looking to put two defeats behind them and show that there’s still a chance for them to break into the play-offs in the coming six games.

The Verdict  

Blackburn’s list of absentees is worrying, but in Lenihan (and potentially Travis) they’ve got influential players suddenly available again.

Mowbray won’t shrink from the challenge of taking on Leeds and is very unlikely to use an injury list as an excuse against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

They will play to their strengths and give Leeds a real game at Ewood Park.

Thoughts? Let us know!