Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray says he is hopeful but not certain that centre back Darragh Lenihan will be able to return to the side when they host Barnsley in their first game back after the upcoming international break.

Lenihan has not featured for Blackburn since limping out of their 4-2 defeat at QPR at the start of October, although he is starting to step up his preparations to resume training, with Rovers targeting the clash with the Tykes at Ewood Park on November 23rd as a date for his return to action.

When asked about the possibility of Lenihan - who had featured in all but one of Blackburn's league games this season prior to his injury - featuring against Barnsley, Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I hope so, but I can’t give that 100 per cent guarantee.

“When you’re in the final stages of your rehab things can go wrong, you can get little twinges or niggles.

“The planning would be that he builds his training up over the next couple of weeks and hopefully going in to Barnsley he has a full week of training and then we consider himself for selection.”

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Mowbray also provided an update on the situations surrounding attacking duo Ben Brereton and Dominic Samuel, who are both set to feature for the club's Under 23s in their next two games, with the Rovers boss continuing: “Brereton and Samuel will play Friday night against Middlesbrough, maybe for an hour, and then try and get them 90 minutes against Hertha Berlin at Ewood next week.

“Then after that, they’re ready to compete and get back in the team."

Having ended a six-game winless run with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, Blackburn are now 16th in the Championship standings, and will end the current run of fixtures with a trip to Elland Road to take on Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

Having Lenihan back will be a huge boost for Blackburn.

Since their return to the Championship, the Irishman has stepped up his ability and leadership within Rovers' defence considerably, and it is perhaps no surprise that some of their worst runs during that time have come when he has been out through injury.

With that in mind however, you can certainly see to an extent why Mowbray is reluctant to rush him back, given he will not want to aggravate anything that could keep him out longer than he has already has been.

With the likes of Brereton and Samuel also on their way back, it does seem as though Rovers options are starting to rise once more, which could be crucial as they look to recover from that difficult recent run.