INJURED Blackburn Rovers defender Tommy Spurr will be sent on a spying mission to his beloved Hillsborough tomorrow.

Spurr could have been part of the Rovers party that heads to the Riverside Stadium for their top-six showdown with Middlesbrough.

But instead Gary Bowyer has decided to pack him off to the home of Sheffield Wednesday for their clash with Wigan Athletic.

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It is the Rovers manager’s way of lifting the left back’s spirits in his ongoing recovery from the serious groin problem that has prevented him from a kicking a ball this season.

But Bowyer also hopes Spurr’s trip to the club he supported as a boy, and started his career at, will provide a different insight into the Owls, the visitors to Ewood Park on Saturday week.

“We’ve got him out scouting for us this weekend,” said Bowyer of the fans’ favourite.

“It’s a way of keeping him involved as you’ve got to make sure the injured players still feel valued and still feel part of it.

“Tommy has still got a massive role to play for us this season. But this weekend he’ll be doing a bit of scouting for us.

“He’ll be going to watch a Championship match for us and he will give us a player’s view on how the opposition will play.”

Once Spurr eventually does return he will present Rovers with a major selection headache given the form displayed by Markus Olsson in his absence. But Bowyer’s main posers tomorrow are further up the field as he must decide who replaces the suspended Tom Cairney and whether to drop Rudy Gestede or Jordan Rhodes to the bench and go with a five-man midfield for the third time in four away matches.

Bowyer said: “You take each game on merit, look at strengths and weaknesses and ways in which you can exploit the opposition.

“That’s exactly what we’ll do for Middlesbrough and once we have done that we will pick the formation and the players who are suited for that.

“Any selection that you make is done with the team first and what I’m delighted with at the moment is that everybody understands that. Both strikers have been left out recently and they have both responded in magnificent style.

“That’s what we’ve got now. We’ve got an honest bunch who are committed to each other. They realise that the decisions made are made for the team first.”

Rovers go into tomorrow’s encounter, which will be the featured match on the BBC’s Football League Show, unbeaten in eight games. It is a run of form that has hauled them up to sixth in the standings and within two points of third-placed Boro.

The north-east outfit are managed by Aitor Karanka, the three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid who spent three years as assistant to Jose Mourinho at the Spanish giants before heading to England.

Bowyer said: “They were one of my fancies for the season.

“They’ve got an outstanding manager who has got very good contacts, especially at Chelsea, as I think they’ve got three from them, so that helps. And they’ve got goals throughout the team.

“But our lads’ confidence is sky high and they’re really enjoying their football.”