Blackburn Rovers have suffered a triple injury blow ahead of their clash with Bristol City after John Eustace admitted all of Callum Brittain, Danny Batth and Joe Rankin-Costello are likely to miss the trip to Ashton Gate this weekend.
The Robins welcome Rovers to the West Country on Saturday afternoon as they look to build on their 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday last time out. City are without a win in any of their last three games in all competitions but managed to twice come from behind to pick up a point at Hillsborough.
Blackburn slipped to a second consecutive defeat in midweek as they were beaten 2-0 by Coventry City at Ewood Park on Tuesday evening. While the result was disappointing for Eustace, perhaps more concerning was the fact that both Brittain and Batth were forced off with injuries and Rankin-Costello had to play the final stages of the game with an issue as Rovers had used up all their substitutions.
Although Eustace was keen to insist all three injuries were not as bad as initially feared, he did admit that it was unlikely all three players would be ready to feature at Ashton Gate.
“We’re still waiting on a couple of the boys with Danny and Callum coming off. Joe is struggling after hurting his ankle, they’ve had their scans,” the Rovers manager told the Lancashire Telegraph. “We are waiting to see how they are, it’s not as bad as initially thought.
“They are very touch and go for the weekend. We have had their scans but we have to see how they react. I very much doubt they will play at the weekend. With muscle injuries, they’re serious so you have to look at them carefully.
“But we’re not talking six or seven weeks, which is the worry when they come off. It’s down to fatigue levels because two of them have been playing every single week.”
Although the potential absence of Rankin-Costello, Brittain and Batth will be a blow for Rovers, Eustace’s side have had some more positive news on the injury front as preparations continue for their trip to the South West this weekend.
Lewis Travis is set to travel with the squad having been sidelined with a hamstring issue since December while Aynsley Pears is also back in first-team training having missed the defeat to Coventry City on Tuesday evening through illness. On top of that, young forward Amario Cozier-Durberry is fit to feature having had a scan following the clash with the Sky Blues.
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Although the return of Travis will be a boost for Blackburn, Eustace has insisted the 27-year-old will need to be protected to ensure that his comeback from injury isn’t cut short.
“Trav is back in the group, Pearsy feels better and was in today so that’s two positives,” the Rovers boss explained. “Amario was scanned too but that came back fine. That’s a positive and he’ll be in the squad. Lewis will be in the squad. We have to protect him, he hasn’t had a full week’s training but he’s raring to go. We have to look at him and make sure we don’t push him too far. We know how important he is to the squad.
“He has been saying he wanted to start last week. That’s his nature, he’s our leader and he’s itching. He’s been to every game and he’s a top professional so we’re glad he’s fit and available.
“Even this week in the few days he’s trained, the levels have risen. He drives standards as if he’s never been away.”