Blackburn Rovers Injury Update and Ito Deal Stalls

Tony Mowbray says Blackburn Rovers’ injury list is finally beginning to relent – but their move for free agent Ryotaro Ito has all but collapsed.

Rovers went into Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat at home to Sheffield United without a recognised centre-forward, forced to push Jayden Fevrier into a false-nine role with Andri Gudjohnsen sidelined. The Iceland international had already carried a heavy load, clocking 418 minutes across the club’s first five matches, while fellow forwards Mathias Jorgensen and Yuki Ohashi remain weeks away from returning.

The strain has been obvious. So has the reliance on youth.

Injuries easing, options returning

There is at least a flicker of good news. Gudjohnsen returned to training on Thursday and Mowbray is hopeful he will be involved against Millwall at Ewood Park on Saturday (15:00 BST). Moussa Baradji is also edging closer, with the manager suggesting the forward could make his first appearance of the season from the bench.

“It’s starting to improve and starting to get better,” Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire, welcoming the sight of senior players back on the grass.

He did not hide how much he has missed them.

“It would be nice to have some more senior players to try and change a game late on as opposed to hoping a young boy comes on and does something quite special.”

Ito deal stalls as window of opportunity closes

Behind the scenes, Rovers had been working on a deal for Japan midfielder Ryotaro Ito, who spent last season in Belgium. The 28-year-old was at the club on Monday and a move looked close, offering Mowbray a badly needed injection of experience and creativity.

Then it stalled. And now, it seems, it has slipped away.

“I’m not really sure what’s happened,” Mowbray admitted. “At this moment there’s nothing happening.

“I genuinely don’t know but, my experience would suggest to me that it’s not going to happen now.

“I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I asked for help a few weeks ago and the club are trying to put some players in the building to help us.”

So the search goes on, but without Ito – a near-miss at a time when Rovers can ill afford many.

Pressure mounting before Millwall test

On the pitch, the numbers are blunt. One point from the last four games. A slide that has left Blackburn four points and 10 places adrift of eighth-placed Millwall.

The performances, Mowbray insists, have not always matched the results.

“We know we need to find a result, we can’t keep thinking the team is playing quite well but we’re getting beat again or drawing again,” he said.

“I think we are better than the results have suggested the last couple of games and deserved more from them, but the reality is you have to win matches and get points.”

The message is clear. With bodies slowly returning but recruitment frustration lingering, Blackburn’s margin for error is shrinking. Millwall at home, with a striker finally back in the frame, already feels like more than just another early-season fixture.