Harry Leonard won’t feature again this season due to injury – but the youngster is eager to come back stronger.

The 20-year-old forward hasn’t been involved since the trip to West Brom in January due to a back problem.

Leonard admits it was initially tough to take when he found out that he wouldn’t be able to play a part in the run-in.

“I have had a bit of time to get myself right,” he told RoversTV. “I can’t really do too much at the minute but I am back in now.

“It has been a month, which has gone fairly quickly. Hopefully, come pre-season I will be ready to go again.

“Early December, I started getting a bit of pain in my back and didn’t think much of it. I got through it and felt good when I was training and playing.

“Around early February, I broke down a bit in training and there was something that had come up in the scans.”

The timing of the injury was particularly frustrating for the youngster, who was keen to impress John Eustace following his arrival at Ewood Park.

“I only trained with the gaffer and his staff for about a week,” Leonard explained. “That was why I was so upset and down at first, I felt like it was an opportunity for me to show him what I have got and what I can bring to the team.

“But he has been great with me. I can’t thank him enough and I am really looking forward to working with him in the summer.”

Prior to the injury, Leonard had made a promising start to life in the first-team squad, scoring four goals in 22 appearances.

“If someone said I would play 20-odd games and get the goals I have got, I would have snapped their hand off,” he smiled.

“It has been unbelievable, obviously I have come right through the Academy and I love putting on the shirt and being in front of the fans.

“It is what I have dreamt of through my childhood and when I hear the fans singing my name, there is no better feeling!”

Making the step up from youth football to the Championship is far from easy, but the forward has relished testing himself against experienced defenders.

Leonard is now keen to make the most of his time on the sidelines and hopes he can pick up where he left off next season.

“I would like to think I am an established first-team player now,” he continued. “I think I showed enough in the games I did play and at times, I felt like I thrived.

“I scored some good goals but on occasions I felt like I could have scored more. There are no easy games in the Championship.

“I will use the experiences I have gained this year and take them into next season. I want to kick on, I don’t want to stand still.”