BLACKBURN Rovers boss Paul Lambert says striker Chris Brown still has a role to play.

Brown has not featured for Rovers since he was substituted 56 minutes into the Capital One Cup home loss to Shrewsbury Town in the first week of the season.

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But the 30-year-old was back on the bench for Saturday’s Ewood Park clash with Sheffield Wednesday.

And he was set to be introduced until captain Grant Hanley went off injured after Wednesday equalised for the second time.

Brown is now fully fit after undergoing the second knee operation of his injury-hit Rovers career.

And, speaking before the 2-2 draw with the Owls, his new manager confirmed that he is in his thoughts.

Lambert, who kicked-off his Rovers reign with a 2-1 triumph at Preston North End, said: “Chris is in my thinking.

“The reason that he never made the bench against Preston was because he’s been coming back from an injury and I wasn’t sure whether he was up to speed with things.

“But you can’t argue with the way that he has trained over the last couple of weeks.”

Brown has yet to score in 12 starts and nine substitute appearances for Rovers since his free transfer switch from Doncaster in the summer of 2014.

Former Wycombe Wanderers, Colchester United, Norwich City and Aston Villa boss Lambert continued: “He’s not one I would say I’m not going to use.

“I knew Chris Brown from a long time ago and he’s a handful. He’s an absolute handful.

“He might not start every game but if he gets in the team and plays well then it’s up to him from there.

“But he’s definitely a handful. He’s something different and, for a big lad, he’s got a really good touch.

“I know he is somebody I can use without any trepidation whatsoever.”

Brown is one of 11 Rovers first-team players in the final year of their current contracts.

Goalkeeper Simon Eastwood, defenders Markus Olsson, Tommy Spurr, Matt Kilgallon and Darragh Lenihan, midfielders Craig Conway, Chris Taylor, Lee Williamson and Sacha Petshi, and fellow forward Nathan Delfouneso are all set to be out of contract come the summer.