DAVID Dunn is facing a race against time as he battles to be fit for Wednesday night's crunch UEFA Cup clash with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

The midfielder is receiving round-the-clock treatment after suffering a deadleg as a result of a ninth minute challenge with Everton's Phil Neville during the 1-0 defeat at Goodison on Saturday.

Dunn is hopeful he will recover in time to take his place on the plane bound for Cologne tomorrow morning, which would be a major boost for manager Mark Hughes, who is already without five other first team members because of injuries.

"There's a chance I'll make it," said Dunn.

"It felt slightly easier yesterday and I'm hoping to start running again tomorrow.

"We're up against the clock a little bit, but I really want to be on board that plane so we're pulling out all the stops."

Handed his first start since rejoining Rovers from Birmingham last month, Dunn was desperate to impress against Everton, but he lasted just 15 minutes before having to limp off in obvious discomfort.

"I wanted to stay on but I just couldn't run it off," said the 27-year-old.

"At least it's nothing like the injuries I've had in the past and it should be days rather than weeks this time.

"But it's come at a bad time because I was looking to get 90 minutes under my belt at the weekend."

Hughes is confident Dunn will be available for Wednesday, when Rovers will look to secure a crucial first leg advantage to bring back to Ewood.

"I'm very hopeful. I just think it's an impact injury," said the Rovers boss.

"It was a concern, obviously, when he limped off but thankfully it's just a bang on the hip and a deadleg so when it settles down, it shouldn't be a problem.

"David was desperate to have an impact and it was a perfect game for him to come back into.

"We're just disappointed for him that he had to come off. But we're hopeful it's not going to keep him out of any more games."

Hughes is also hoping to have Aaron Mokoena back in contention for Wednesday's game.

The South African international missed the defeat at Goodison because of a family problem but was expected back at the club today.

Hughes added: "He should be back. He had a problem with his family whilst he was over in South Africa (on international duty) and he stayed a couple of days to resolve it.

"I think it was a problem with his mother. She had to go to hospital."