SAM Allardyce is due to have to talks with Australian boss Holger Osieck in the next couple of weeks to find out whether Brett Emerton will miss all of Blackburn Rovers’ January fixtures due to the Asian Cup.

Emerton is set to be named in the Socceroos’ squad for the tournament, which will take place in Qatar between January 7 and 29, and FIFA regulations state that clubs must release their players 14 days before the start of the competition.

That would mean Emerton joining up with Australia on Christmas Eve, ruling him out of up to 10 Rovers games – but Socceroos coach Osieck is due to travel to England within the next fortnight to meet with Allardyce and other Premier League bosses to discuss a date on which players must be released.

Australia are unlikely to enforce the two-week call-up rule and Rovers are understood to be confident that the midfielder will figure in the home game against Stoke on Boxing Day and the trip to West Bromwich Albion on December 28.

Emerton seems certain to miss Liverpool’s Premier League visit to Ewood Park on January 5 but the main point of discussion may be whether the 31-year-old can play at Sunderland on New Year’s Day, although Rovers are optimistic that he will be available.

Allardyce is currently short of midfielders because of an injury crisis, although the club hope that Keith Andrews (groin), Steven Nzonzi (hamstring) and Vince Grella (Achilles) could all be back by the turn of the year.

Australia’s first group match is against India, the home country of Rovers’ new owners Venky’s, on January 10 before further matches against South Korea on January 14 and Bahrain on January 18.

The Socceroos are one of the favourites for the tournament so Emerton could then be involved in further games, with the quarter finals, semi finals and a third-place play-off scheduled before the final on January 29.

Rovers travel to Chelsea on January 15 before hosting West Brom eight days later, and Emerton could also miss the Ewood clash with Tottenham on February 2 if Australia reach the final.

In addition, they have an FA Cup third round fixture at home to QPR on January 8 as well as a possible replay and fourth round game.

Rovers are understanding that Emerton will be keen to play in Asia’s biggest tournament, although team-mate Vince Grella is unlikely to be involved after opting to take a sabbatical from international football.

Unlike Australia, who joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, Ryan Nelsen’s New Zealand are still part of Oceania and are not involved.

This will be the first time Rovers have lost a player in January to the Asian Cup, which is held every four years and usually takes place in the summer but was switched to the winter to avoid the hottest time of the year in the Middle East.

The club have, however, previously been without players in the first month of the year because of the Africa Cup of Nations, which next takes place in January 2012.

Of Rovers’ current squad, Chris Samba may find qualification difficult with Congo but El-Hadji Diouf has signalled his intention to come out of retirement for Senegal, for whom loan striker Mame Biram Diouf is also involved.