ROVERS manager Owen Coyle is hoping a week without a match will give his injured stars the chance to get back to full fitness.

The manager had been without Adam Henley and Elliott Ward since early in the season, while strikers Danny Graham and Anthony Stokes have also spent spells on the sidelines.

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Both were missing from the bench at Saturday - Stokes with food poisoning - meaning Marvin Emnes had to play on despite taking a blow to his ankle in the first half.

Centre-backs Wes Brown and Gordon Greer are carrying knocks which have forced Coyle into deploying Darragh Lenihan alongside Tommie Hoban in the heart of the back line.

The manager is trying to stay upbeat about the situation, but he admits he could do with some extra bodies back for Saturday’s home clash with Wolves.

He said: “Any injury is always a worry, always a problem, because then you lose very good players from your squad.

“There’s no midweek game so hopefully we can get one or two back off the treatment table, back to bolster the squad.

“We trust the medical team to do what they’re doing and get them back as quick as they can, and we ultimately control the ones who are fit and look to get the best out of them.

“Again, the ones that were fit gave everything everything against Bristol City.”

Coyle revealed Emnes chose to stay on the pitch at Ashton Gate even after receiving treatment for a whack to his ankle half an hour in.

“Marvin got a knock in the first half but he wanted to soldier on, because Anthony Stokes was down with food poisoning,” said the manager.

“He’d had it at the start of the week and he was able to be involved in Tuesday, but from there it just got progressively worse.

“Danny Graham is on his way back but we’d didn’t have him available, so we’ve not been blessed by any sort of luck in that department.”

One bright spot on the injury front is the return of Charlie Mulgrew, who Coyle says he will ease back in after he last just 34 minutes of his debut at Queens Park Rangers in last month.

But even that isn’t straightforward, with the Scotland international having to fill in at left-back when Derrick Williams was taken off - another name for the physios to add to their list.

Coyle, though, was pleased to see Mulgrew getting some more minutes in the legs as he looks towards building up his match fitness.

“It wasn’t the situation we wanted to bring Charlie in, with the injury to Derrick,” he said.

“But Charlie is a wonderful player and can fill in in a few different positions.

“We didn’t envisage it being left-back, but that’s the kind of breaks we’ve been having with injuries.”