Blackburn Rovers Injury Relief and Ito Deal Stalls
Tony Mowbray says Blackburn Rovers are finally starting to see light at the end of their injury tunnel – but the move for free agent Ryotaro Ito is all but dead.
Rovers went into Tuesday night’s 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United without a single recognised striker, forced to use Jayden Fevrier as a false nine with Andri Gudjohnsen sidelined. The Iceland international had shouldered a heavy load early in the campaign, racking up 418 minutes across the first five matches while fellow forwards Mathias Jorgensen and Yuki Ohashi were ruled out for weeks.
The strain showed. The balance of the team looked wrong, the bench light, the options thin.
Now, at last, there is some relief.
Strikers returning, options growing
Gudjohnsen returned to training on Thursday and Mowbray is optimistic the 22-year-old can be involved against Millwall at Ewood Park on Saturday (15:00 BST). It would be a significant boost for a side that has taken just one point from its last four games.
There is also the prospect of a first sighting this season of Moussa Baradji. The forward is edging closer to fitness and could be ready for a place on the bench, offering Mowbray a different profile in attack if the game demands a late change.
"It's starting to improve and starting to get better," Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire, reflecting on a squad that has looked stretched and raw in recent weeks.
"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."
That has been the story so far: youngsters asked to deliver moments of magic rather than seasoned professionals closing out tight contests.
Ito deal stalls as Rovers search for help
Off the pitch, one potential solution appears to have slipped away.
Rovers were close to an agreement for Japan midfielder Ryotaro Ito, who spent last season in Belgium, and the 28-year-old was even at the club on Monday as talks progressed. Yet the move has stalled, and Mowbray no longer expects it to happen.
"I'm not really sure what's happened," he 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."
The collapse of the Ito deal leaves Rovers still searching for reinforcements, still juggling short-term needs with longer-term planning as the season starts to take shape.
Results lag behind performances
On the table, the picture is stark. One point from four matches. Four points and 10 places behind Saturday’s visitors Millwall. Performances, Mowbray insists, have not matched the return.
"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."
That is the crux of it. Rovers may feel their displays warrant more, but the league table is unforgiving.
With Gudjohnsen on the way back, Baradji nearing involvement and the search for new faces ongoing, Saturday against Millwall already carries the weight of a small turning point. Do Blackburn finally turn performances into points, or does this early-season stumble begin to look like something more serious?
