DARRAGH Lenihan is making progress, but will not be rushed - that’s the message from Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray.

The centre half has not featured since the opening day defeat at Southend, where he suffered a fractured metatarsal.

Lenihan revealed on social media last week that he was back in light training, tweeting on Friday: “First day out on the grass today. Felt good hopefully back in a couple of weeks.”

But Mowbray says that after so long on the sidelines, his comeback will not be fast-tracked.

“He’s been out so long. As a manager I’m basically leaving him with the sports science department and medical department,” the Rovers boss explained.

“The day they tell me that Lenihan is going to join the group that will be great and we’ll assess him and see how he gets on.

“He’s going to need to train with the group for a while as well, and then he has to wait for an opportunity within a team that’s been doing okay, winning some matches. He understands that, he knows that. And it will fall into that category again of central midfield areas and the striking areas.

“We’ve got the same issues at centre half because of Mulgrew, Downing, Ward, Lenihan, Wharton, and that can only be healthy for the team as well.”