Just a few short weeks ago, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Blackburn Rovers centre back Sam Barnes.

After a promising pre-season in which the 21-year-old was one of a number of the club's young prospects to impress, and show signs of flourishing under new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, a place on the bench for the 1-0 win over QPR on the opening day of the Championship season, seemed to suggest that Barnes would spend the campaign, challenging for a first-team spot at Ewood Park.

But just days after that victory over QPR, the defender was forced out of a behind closed doors training match, with what was shortly after revealed to be an ACL injury that looks set to rule him out for the vast majority of what remains of this season.

Given how close he was to making his competitive breakthrough with the senior side, such a setback will have been incredibly difficult for Barnes to take, coming at what looked as though it could have been a decisive time in his career.

Beyond that, the defender's contract with Rovers had been set to expire at the end of this season, which may have left him facing some uncertainty with regards to his long-term future at his boyhood club.

Now however, that has been put to bed, with it announced on Tuesday that Barnes has put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with Blackburn, who hold the option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.

That effectively secures the 21-year-old's future at Ewood Park until the end of the 2024/25 season, and in the circumstances, it feels like exactly the right decision for the club to make.

For starters, the fact that Blackburn are not only giving Barnes the time to recover from his injury, but also to have a chance after that, to compete for his place in the senior side, feels like exactly the right thing to do by a player who has been with the club since he was 12-years-old, giving him the proper opportunity that every player will, in this case rightly, feel they deserve.

The fact Rovers have taken that stance is something that ought not to go unnoticed among the rest of the squad, and that knowledge they will be supported by the club in difficult circumstances such as this, will surely only help when it comes to negotiating important agreements with other individuals.

Beyond that, by handing this new contract to Barnes, Blackburn are continuing the encouraging work they have been doing this month in protecting potentially key long term assets, with the new contracts that have been signed by fellow academy graduates John Buckley, Adam Wharton, and Ash Phillips.

Given this is a club that is understandably becoming ever more proud of the success of its academy - the clash with Luton in the final match before the international break was the 600th game in a row in which there has been at least one academy graduate in Rovers' matchday squad - a new deal for another to have come through the youth ranks in the form of Barnes, will only help maintain a feel good factor around Ewood Park.

It is also worth noting that this could be an important deal for Blackburn to get done, from a playing perspective as well.

As things stand, veteran defender Daniel Ayala is set to see his contract at Ewood Park expire at the end of this season, while summer signing Clinton Mola is currently only on loan, albeit with an option to buy.

Meanwhile, it could also be argued that even with the new contract he has just signed, the continually impressive form of Ash Phillips, means it would be no surprise if he was to once again attract interest from a number of Premier League clubs next summer, as was the case this time around.

Consequentially, Rovers may yet be facing the prospect of losing another significant number of central defensive options before the start of next season, as was the case this time around.

That would mean that this move to retain the services of a promising and talented addition such as Barnes, will prove vital once he is back to full fitness, in terms of ensuring Tomasson has enough options to fill that role.

With all that in mind, it does seem that for all the frustration Blackburn have had to endure with regards to Barnes' situation recently, this latest update on his future, can only be viewed as a very positive one.