DEVASTATED Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage last night said people should make their own minds up about the horror tackle that left him with a broken leg.

The recently appointed Rovers skipper suffered a fractured right fibula as a result of the X-rated challenge by Watford's Al Bangura at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

Savage had an operation yesterday to repair the damage, and he will now spend the next three months recovering, which rules him out for the remainder of the season.

That's a shattering blow for both the player and his manager, Mark Hughes, who has also lost Andre Ooijer and Steven Reid to long-term injuries in the space of the last fortnight.

However, Rovers' Agent Provocateur is determined to answer those critics who believe he had it coming to him by returning fitter and stronger than ever before'.

The 32-year-old, who had been a pivotal figure in Rovers' recent revival, said: "I'm devastated. I was having probably one of my best ever seasons, I'd just been given the captaincy, and the team were flying, so to get injured now is a massive blow. I'm absolutely gutted.

"I've seen the tackle again on TV and it doesn't look the best in the world to me, but I'll leave people to make their own minds up about it.

"I know I've been renowned in the past for going in for 50/50s and all that, and the way I play I expect to get hurt from time to time.

"Unfortunately for me, on this occasion I have got hurt, and I know some people will say I had it coming.

"But now I've got to answer those critics by coming back even fitter and stronger.

"Every time I've been knocked down in my career in the past, I've always bounced back, and I'm determined to do that again.

"At the end of the day, there's a lot of people in this world who are far more worse off than me, so I can't afford to start feeling sorry for myself.

"I've just got to pick myself up again and concentrate on getting back to fitness."

Savage and Bangura clashed in the 54th minute of Tuesday's bruising encounter, and the Rovers midfielder said he knew straight away he had done something serious.

"I knew straight away I'd broken it. It was very similar to what happened to Andre at the weekend.

"When I went over to see Andre by the side of the pitch, he said straight away I've broken my leg', and I was the same."

Savage had a pin inserted in his leg during yesterday's operation, which will help knit the bone back together, and he's now targeting pre-season for a comeback.

He added: "It's a clean break so the doctors said I'll make a complete recovery, but it's still going to take three and a half months to heal.

"Things like this just make you more determined to come back even stronger and fitter than ever before.

"I'm sure that's what Andre and Reidy are thinking too, and at least we can help each other through it.

"When you're a footballer the highs are highs, and the lows are really low.

"Going into the gym every day trying to get yourself fit again after an injury is hard work, but it's something you've just got to get on with."