Norwich City travel to Ewood Park on Saturday to take on Blackburn Rovers but the home side will be without wingers, Craig Conway and ex-Canary favourite, Elliot Bennett.
Bennett has missed the last three games with a fractured metatarsal but despite being back running in training, he won’t be available to Tony Mowbray for the visit of second-placed Norwich.
“Elliott is back running, but he has to go through a process” Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph.
“I think Boxing Day (against Leeds) might be a day too soon, so maybe the game after that (Sheffield United).
“The most important thing is that they get back fit and we’re not gambling on them or trying to nick a day or two off them and they end up breaking down and are out for a month.
“It’s judged on a daily basis.
“If it was the last game of the season then I think they would both play, but we have a lot of important games coming up and we have to make sure they are right.”
Conway had started the previous three matches, so will be a big miss and as for Bennett, well, it’s always nice to catch up with former (well thought of) players but there is always the danger that they raise their game against you and end up ruining your day by scoring a worldie or producing a man of the match performance.
The next two games after that will see us coming up against Lewis Grabban (not well thought of) and Bradley Johnson’s (very well thought of) Derby County, although Johnson will still be suspended after that unfortunate biting incident with Stoke’s Joe Allen.
Jack Rodwell, former Everton, Manchester City and Sunderland (£70k pw at Sunderland) could be back in the Rovers’ squad though.
OTBC