BRIAN Kidd has a worrying week ahead of him as he waits anxiously to see if his international players return unscathed from a testing programme.

And his concern is particularly centred on Lee Carsley, who could face three intense games in eight days for the Republic of Ireland.

Rovers have players away on international duty with both Northern Ireland and the Republic, as well as Scotland and Wales.

But, in the absence of Jason McAteer, Garry Flitcroft and Billy McKinlay, Carsley is the only experienced central midfield player available to the Blackburn Rovers boss.

So he would rather have wrapped him up in cotton wool for a fortnight than send him off to face Yugoslavia, Croatia and Malta in a trio of crucial Euro 2000 qualifying matches with the Republic.

Kidd simply cannot afford for anything to happen to Carsley and he is already concerned about the effects of playing too many matches in a short time might have on him.

"I wanted to give Lee a break from matches in the pre-season build-up but that wasn't possible because of the injuries," said Kidd.

"We were desperate to give him a bit of breather but it never works out that way and he has played in every match since we started in pre-season." The absence of so many players, because of the international calls, also has a serious adverse effect on training at Brockhall.

"Obviously I would rather have the lads here training," said Kidd.

"When you have your players during the week you can work on things and they get an understanding.

"In defence of the players, we have had a lot of changes not only with the injuries but with the boys we have brought in.

"Everybody is new to one another.

"But there are so many away again now."

Another of the Republic stars, Damien Duff, stayed behind at Ewood for further treatment to a niggling knee injury.

But it remained a possibility that he could join up with the international squad in time for the two matches which follow Wednesday's game against Yugoslavia.

"We'll just have to see how he is. But we are in contact with Mick McCarthy," added Kidd.

McCarthy's side have been given a major boost.

It has been confirmed their Group Eight opponents tomorrow night, Yugoslavia, will be without six top players.

But McCarthy, whose side travel to Zagreb to meet current leaders Croatia on Saturday and then take on Malta in Valletta the following Wednesday, insisted: "We'll still need to perform at our very best to beat them. "In the first match of the group, Croatia came here missing a few players but still thought they would walk all over us because they had been semi-finalists in the World Cup, but it didn't work out like that and we won 2-0.

"I certainly can't believe that Yugoslavia are going to have a similar attitude.

"They know how well we played against them in Belgrade last November when we were unlucky to lose 1-0."

Garry Flitcroft and Darren Peacock continue on the road to recovery as Rovers reserves are at home to Bolton tonight (kick-off 7pm).

The squad is: Fettis, McNamee, Croft, Dunn, Peacock, Taylor, Corbett, Flitcroft, Thomas, O'Brien, Fitzpatrick, Brown, Bingham, Hamilton, Murphy, Gill.

Blackburn-born former England under 21 international Chris Holland has been placed on the transfer list by Birmingham City boss Trevor Francis after turning down a new contract offer.

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