Blackburn Rovers are sweating on the fitness of centre-back Dom Hyam following his withdrawal at half time in the 2-1 win over Millwall last night.
The 27-year-old has featured in all 13 of Rovers’ Championship fixtures this season, captaining the side in the last four. He has proved to be a pivotal component of the Lancashire side’s recent revival, which has seen them shoot up the table off the back of three successive victories. As a result, they now sit in 10th, just one point off the play-off places.
Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson appears to have solved one of the major issues from the early part of the season, which saw them concede 21 goals in their opening 10 fixtures. This led to them having the joint-worst defence in the division, but they have now shipped just the one solitary strike in their trio of wins and the Danish legend will be keen to build on that momentum.
The former Premier League winners host Swansea City on Saturday and will be hoping they will have Hyam at their disposal, with Tomasson revealing after the game the reasons for his half time substitution. Speaking to Rovers TV, the 47-year-old said that the former Coventry City defender will undergo a scan on his ankle before this weekend’s fixture;
“Of course I’m disappointed that we lost Dom Hyam, the captain, but hopefully it’s nothing serious.
“He will go for a scan tomorrow, so let’s wait and see, but I know that Dom is a tough cookie. He wants to play every game and he can play with pain as well, so he will try to be able to play as quick as possible, I know that.”
Despite the Scotland international’s potential absence, the gaffer will have been pleased to see his fringe players performing so well, praising centre-back Scott Wharton for his second half introduction last night;
“Scott has been waiting on his chance.
“It’s difficult to sit on the bench, but we’ve kept Scott up to speed with a lot of internal games, so when the chance came he was able to perform and I think he did really well.”
Writer’s View
It would be a blow for Blackburn to lose such a key player, especially after recent results. However, Tomasson showcased his depth with the introduction of former Lincoln City loanee Wharton last night.
Their recent form has shown how tight the Championship is, with them leaping an incredible 10 places over the last three games. However, a couple of defeats could see them fall just as quickly as their rise, with just seven points separating the fifth and 20th-placed teams. Rovers will be hoping Hyam’s injury is nothing serious as the look to enter next month’s international break on a high.
