ROVERS seem to have been fairly lucky so far with injuries, apart from a couple of lads missing a few of the friendly games with minor knocks.

I know some say pre-season is a dangerous time for players as they try to improve their fitness and have matches against different levels of opposition.

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But if injuries play on your mind, you’ll get yourself injured - it’s as simple as that.

You’ve got to come back with confidence, with excitement. You see new players who have signed for the club and you meet them.

Then it’s about how you train.

If you’ve looked after yourself for three or four weeks that you’ve been off, or have you let yourself go a little bit? If that’s the case you try a bit harder, but you have to be careful with your injuries.

That’s most important on the manager’s side of it. He wants to get his players fit, but he has to do that at the same time as keeping them free of knocks.

Shane Duffy played 76 minutes of Saturday’s match at Blackpool, and Corry Evans got on for 15 or so minutes at the end.

That’s a good sign and I have no doubt they will both still be buzzing from playing for their countries at Euro 2016.

It does help playing international football, but I definitely believe you still need that pre-season training with your club.

I did it for 12 years where you’re playing international football, have three weeks holiday, then you come back.

That time away from the club is great, but it’s like nervous excitement of coming home from a holiday when you return.

You’ve got to slip back into the club culture, that’s the hardest thing.

Being away with another manager and a team that you’ve got to know over the years, you do got some new ideas.

If you can get any knowledge, the manager will always ask you about it and you share your information. Hopefully, can pass something on that can help your team.

As for Duffy, it’s important for Blackburn to keep hold of him just now because we’ve kind of run out of centre-halves. He’s a young lad and he’s getting better.

People are going to watch him and you’re just hoping that Blackburn can pick up their form with him in the side.

If Rovers do well, though, they might not be able to hold into him. That’s the only problem that you have.

But it’s going to have to be a bigger side that come in for him, that’s for sure.

I was pleased to see Rovers Academy retaining its Category 1 status, and I hope they can continue to develop young players.

That’s why you build an academy; to get the production line going.

I always say that you need two players coming through every season, one for your first team and one for your development team.

  • This is Kevin Gallacher's final column for the Lancashire Telegraph.