Blackburn Rovers boss confirms big injury setback ahead of Sunderland clash

Blackburn Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has conceded that his side might be facing Sunderland without a recognised striker on Wednesday night.

The head coach confirmed that Sam Gallagher has been ruled out for a significant period after picking up an injury in the 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at the weekend, joining summer signing Niall Ennis in the treatment room.

Forward Semir Telalovic looks the favourite to replace Gallagher but Tomasson could well deploy a false nine.

Midfielder Lewis Travis was also an injury doubt after the Middlesbrough win but Tomasson has heavily hinted that he will take his place in the XI.

“We all know that Sam Gallagher has an injury history that is not the best, and I’m a bit surprised that he will be out for five, six or seven weeks," Tomasson said.

“We’ve got the report and we’re really disappointed for him and the team.

“It’s always disappointing when a player gets injured, especially for Sam, because he has been injured a lot before I arrived and also in my time.

“He’s an important player and I feel sorry for the boy because he wants to help the team. He’s a great lad, he has a great mentality and attitude, but we can’t change it.

“We have to look at the options we have. We have Semir, who has just arrived, Tyrhys Dolan, who has played that position before, Harry Leonard can play there and we’ve tried to play Sammie [Szmodics] as a false nine there once. Ryan Hedges has also played there. We need to make some changes in that area.

“We know that Trav [Travis] is a warrior, he’s a tough person and I think he’ll be alright for tomorrow,” Tomasson added.

“We have Niall [Ennis] still out but he will be training a bit next week.

“Sam Barnes is out, [Jake] Batty has trained with us a bit and will get his first minutes for the Under-21s against Hertha Berlin on Wednesday.

“[Arnor] Sigurdsson is looking better and better. The rest of the lads are ready to go.”

Bradley Dack, Pierre Ekwah and Dennis Cirkin have all been ruled out for Sunderland, while Nazariy Rusyn is still not yet eligible for selection.