DAVID Bentley is ready to fill the void left by Morten Gamst Pedersen following his star turn for England's Under 21 side earlier this week.

A hamstring injury sustained in last week's victory against Arsenal will prevent Pedersen from lining up for Blackburn Rovers in their game with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

But manager Mark Hughes could have a ready made replacement for the free-scoring Norwegian waiting in the wings in the shape of Bentley, who put forward a strong case for a recall by scoring twice for the Under 21s in their 3-1 friendly win over Norway on Tuesday evening.

The 21-year-old, who earned rave reviews off Under 21 boss Peter Taylor for his performance at Reading, has been a revelation for Blackburn this term and he recently celebrated sealing a permanent transfer from Arsenal by scoring a stunning hat-trick to help sink Manchester United.

However, most of Bentley's best displays for Rovers have come when he's played as a second striker or a right midfielder rather than out on the left, which is where he starred for the Under 21s.

Hughes must, therefore, have watched the coverage of that game at the Madejski Stadium with even greater interest than normal as Bentley provided food for thought with an inspired performance that oozed pace, skill and creativity.

After being hailed by Taylor as a possible solution to England's left-sided problem, Bentley said he was happy playing anywhere because even he has yet to work out where he is most effective.

"I don't seem to have settled down in one position yet and maybe that could hinder me somewhere along the line a little bit," he admitted.

"As a young lad, you're happy just playing and enjoying being on the pitch.

"I'm open to playing anywhere I'm told. I don't think I've found my position yet.

"Maybe in the next couple of years I can find it and then settle there for the rest of my career."

Bentley's recent renaissance, both at domestic level and internationally, is a fitting reward for a player whose career looked in danger of blowing off course prior to the start of this campaign.

A series of personal problems made it difficult for Bentley to concentrate fully on football and it was only after his loan move from Arsenal to Ewood Park was made permanent at the end of the January transfer window that he finally felt settled again.

"I've had a few personal problems, but I believe I'm through that now and trying to push on in the game," said the former Gunner.

"We suffered deaths in the family last year which took their toll. I also had problems on the football side at the beginning of the season, trying to get my career on the right path - but that's all resolved now.

"Although I haven't been playing for that long, it was definitely the toughest period of my career.

"Football took a back seat in my life for a while - and at my age, when I was trying to break through, you can't really afford for that to happen.

"It needs to be the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night, and that's what it's like again now."

Rovers can go level on points with Spurs, who are fourth in the table, if they win Sunday's televised clash at White Hart Lane and Bentley reckons he and his team-mates will go into it brimming with confidence following the win over Arsenal.

He added: "Our away form hasn't been the best but we are looking to turn that around in the final part of the season and if we can go to Tottenham and get a result, that would set us up for the run in."