Blackburn Rovers Strengthened Squad for Swansea Clash

Blackburn Rovers will head to South Wales with a stronger bench and a slightly lighter injury list, but not without a sting in the tale.

Yuri Ribeiro and Yuki Ohashi are both back in the travelling squad for Saturday’s Championship clash with Swansea City, offering Tony Mowbray fresh options after a bruising spell with hamstring problems.

Ribeiro has been sidelined for the past month. Ohashi has endured an even longer wait, two months out with the same type of injury. Both will be among the substitutes at the Swansea.com Stadium, a cautious but welcome step rather than a full-blooded return to the starting XI.

“Yuri and Yuki are both going to travel and are both available for the bench, which is good news for us,” Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire.

The positive news does not stop there. Kristi Montgomery, who missed last week’s win over Wrexham, is also in line to return after coming through training.

“Kristi's trained fully so fingers crossed there's no reaction with that,” Mowbray said, hinting that the midfielder could be pushed straight back into contention if he shows no ill effects.

Just as the treatment room seemed to be emptying, though, Blackburn have been hit again.

Mathias Jorgensen faces another spell out after suffering a setback with his own hamstring injury earlier this month. Any hopes of a quick comeback have been parked.

“He's not travelling. I think as well as dealing with the injury, we need to deal with the psychological side with him,” Mowbray admitted.

Rovers have chosen to take him out of the firing line, giving the defender time away from the grind to reset mentally as well as physically.

“We've given him a few days to see his family and recover because it's been a pretty tough journey that he's had,” the manager added. “Then to break down when he was on the cusp of getting back to full fitness is tough for him.

“Our thoughts are with him at the moment but hopefully it's only another three weeks or something like that and he'll be back on the grass again.”

So Blackburn travel to Swansea with two attackers edging back, a midfielder ready to rejoin the fray, and a centre-back forced to wait once more. In a Championship season that rarely pauses for breath, how they manage those returning legs could shape the next few weeks.