Blackburn Rovers: John Eustace reveals double injury blow ahead of West Brom | OneFootball

Rovers didn't seem to miss the pair too much this weekend.

Blackburn Rovers manager John Eustace has revealed that injuries were the reason why Amario Cozier-Durberry and Kyle McFadzean didn't feature in the squad that beat Swansea City 1-0 on Saturday.

After back-to-back losses which led them into the international break, Blackburn returned from their two weeks away from fixtures with a stellar win.

They were by no means absolutely dominant against Luke Williams' side, but they emerged from the game with three points. The result now puts Rovers in the play-off places, and are just four points off of league leaders Sunderland, having won half of their opening 10 games.

John Eustace reveals reasons for Amario Cozier-Durberry and Kyle McFadzean's absences

Blackburn got the victory without two potentially key options: Cozier-Durberry and McFadzean.

The 19-year-old winger was in contention to start the game against Swansea, according to Eustace, before he picked up his knock, while the veteran defender has been forced to have hand surgery.

This procedure is set to keep McFadzean out of action for Blackburn's midweek game against fellow play-off/promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, but the Brighton & Hove Albion loanee could be in contention to play, as per the boss.

"Amario has hurt his ankle and Fadz has had a small operation on his hand," said the Rovers head coach following his side's win, via the Lancashire Telegraph.

"He had a slight break in that a couple of weeks ago but carried on training and being available. He got a small bit of surgery and will be out for about 10 days possibly.

"I don’t think we will have Fadz (on Wednesday), maybe we will look at Amario. Obviously, he got injured in training yesterday. He was close to starting today. It is a shame for the young boy, but I thought Ryan Hedges was outstanding for 60 minutes."

Despite the team's current standing, the former Birmingham City manager isn't getting ahead of himself. That said, he does think that the group should take a lot of confidence from the way that they've started the new campaign.

"I think it is important that this group of players really believes in themselves," claimed Eustace. "We have lost two games out of 10 now so we are making good strides forward.

"There is lots of hard work ahead and we want to get to 50 points as quickly as we can. That is all we are thinking about.

"We are on 18 now which is a good start, but the Championship is relentless. It is about getting results and making sure that we keep moving in the right direction.

"The Championship can change very quickly. You can have a run of five or six games without a win, you can lose three or four in a row.

"It is just important that you don’t get too carried away with the highs and lows, and realise that the Championship season is a 46-game season."

Expectations for Blackburn do need to be tempered

Very few thought that after selling the man who single-handedly saved them from relegation last season - Sammie Szmodics - Rovers would be anywhere near play-off contention. They needed a brace of goals from the now Ipswich Town player on the final day against Leicester City to confirm their safety, which shows just how perilous of a state they were in at the time.

But, in fairness to Eustace, the players and the front office staff at Ewood Park, they have seemingly turned the fortunes of the club around in one summer, despite losing their best player.

Pretty much all is good, but the boss is right about the need to not get overexcited at this time. We've seen other teams in the past have good starts and then slowly fall away. Look at where Cardiff City were this time last season and where they are now.

Things can flip quickly. Enjoy the present, Blackburn fans, but be mindful that there's no guarantee that things will remain the same.