Massive loss’ – Blackburn Rovers suffer ‘devastating’ double injury blow ahead of Sunderland
Blackburn Rovers manager John Eustace has revealed that his side have suffered a “devastating” double injury blow ahead of their Boxing Day clash with Sunderland.
The Black Cats travel to Ewood Park on Thursday, and will be hoping to widen the gap between themselves and their opponents to nine points.
At the time of writing, Rovers sit fifth in the Championship table, six points adrift of Regis Le Bris’ men, but with a game in hand.
An impressive six-game winning streak was ended by Millwall at the weekend, and Blackburn’s day was made worse still by the enforced withdrawal of Lewis Travis and Harry Pickering, who were both taken off with non-contact injuries.
And in a press conference ahead of his side’s meeting with Sunderland, Eustace delivered an update on the pair.
He said: “Unfortunately Trav has sustained a hamstring injury so he will be out for six weeks. It could have been a lot worse. Hopefully, it will only be six weeks. It is a big blow but it gives someone else the chance to step up and be the man.
“He is the captain and he has been outstanding since he came back. You can see how he drives the team.
It gives someone else an opportunity to step in, they have never let anyone down. We are looking for someone to come in and stand up to step in and continue the good work by everyone else.
Harry has had a scan on his knee and he’s out for longer, unfortunately. He will be between eight and 12 weeks which is a devastating blow. It’s a massive loss, H has been a fantastic performer this season and he gives us flexibility in how we like to play.”
Elsewhere, Arnor Sigurdsson and Balasz Toth are both expected to be absent as well – albeit with less severe issues.
The Icelandic attacker will not return before the new year but Rovers’ back-up goalkeeper is now back in full training, Eustace explained.
He said: “Siggy is still a few weeks away. Balazs trained today for the first time today so it’s good to have him back.”
