Blackburn Rovers’ injury woes will continue into this weekend’s Championship clash with Norwich City, with top goalscorer Sam Szmodics rated doubtful.
The 28-year-old has seven goals in 14 league outings so far this season, although missed the Carabao Cup fourth round defeat against Chelsea on Wednesday night. It was previously hoped that he would be fit enough to return this weekend, but Rovers’ boss Jon Dahl Tomasson is currently sweating on the fitness of the star.
The Lancashire side have had their fair share of injuries in recent weeks, particularly in the defensive area. Centre-back Dom Hyam was the latest to add his name to the ever-growing list last week when he was withdrawn at half time in the 2-1 win over Millwall through illness.
Hayden Carter picked up his fifth booking of the season against Swansea City last time out, triggering an automatic suspension, but the 23-year-old has since been ruled out for three weeks after picking up a hamstring injury against Chelsea.
Via the Lancashire Telegraph, manager Jon Dahl Tomasson addressed the situation ahead of Sunday’s trip to Carrow Road:
“Sam Szmodics is doubtful. We have a big list of injured players. Sam Barnes, Sam Gallagher, Ryan Hedges, Aynsley Pears, Dom Hyam.
“Hayden Carter is banned but he also got injured in the game against Chelsea. He will be out for two to three weeks. It’s a position where Ayala and Phillips went away.
“It was a position where we only got one player so we are extremely stretched. James (Hill) is doing very well, we’ve seen him as a right-back and he’s done well and now we’ll see him as a central defender. I thought he had a great performance against one of the best teams in Europe.
“He has a lot of potential. There’s a lot of energy around him in the building and on the pitch. It’s great to see but we are stretched.”
After a poor run of form throughout late September and early October, the former Premier League winners recovered with three successive victories before their resurgence ended against Swansea. Tomasson will be hoping for an instant recovery against David Wagner’s struggling Norwich side, a game which is considered a must win for the former Huddersfield Town boss.
Writer’s View
Jon Dahl Tomasson has done a great job in keeping Blackburn in the hunt for the play-offs with the tools he has available and credit must got to the former Denmark international. He has publicly praised his stand-in stars, such as James Hill and Scott Wharton, and these players know that this is a huge opportunity to keep their places once the injuries start to ease.
Rovers are just four points off sixth-placed Cardiff City, which is a remarkable turnaround considering they were staring the relegation spots in the face just one month ago.
Head of Writing
