Blackburn confirm three month absence for Lenihan

(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

By Alex Beard

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray has confirmed that the club will be without talented defender Darragh Lenihan for up to three months.

The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 captain has been out of action since the opening day of the season, with scans revealing that he had suffered a stress fracture of his fifth metatarsal.

Lenihan underwent a successful operation to resolve the issue last week, and Mowbray has now announced that the 23-year-old will miss 12 weeks of football.

“I think it is a process you have to go through,” said the Rovers boss. “He’ll be in a protective boot for six weeks and then go back and have a reassessment.

“Then if everyone is happy, he’ll get out of the boot and do some rehabilitation, then there’s probably another six weeks before he goes back and is assessed again – so there is 12 weeks.

“I think Darragh is somebody that shouldn’t be putting too much priority on how close he is to coming back.

“We wish the rehabilitation goes smoothly, he is a quick healer, a robust lad, and hope that it is not too long before he gets his boots back on and is out on the grass.”

Lenihan was the subject of fierce transfer speculation this summer linking him with a move to Chris Wilder‘s Sheffield United side, and this news is certainly a setback for a Blackburn team who desperately hung on to him during that period.