BLACKBURN Rovers' man of steel Ryan Nelsen is ready to play through the pain barrier in a bid to boost the club's fight for honours.

The New Zealand international, who has famously played with broken bones before now, is currently feeling some discomfort in the hamstring area, which meant he failed to complete Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final victory over Manchester City.

However, the Kiwi insists it is NOT a recurrence of the injury that required an operation earlier in the season, and he fully expects to play a full part in the run-in, which is great news for manager Mark Hughes, who is hoping to mastermind a top six Premiership finish, and a place in the FA Cup final.

Allaying fears regarding the injury, the 29-year-old centre-back, who has formed a formidable partnership with Christopher Samba at the heart of a new-look Blackburn defence, said: "I've had a problem with a bit of scar tissue, but it's nothing major at all.

"There's just a bit of fluid there. Everything with the previous injury is fine, it's just a bit of scar tissue which is causing me some discomfort.

"The cup game was probably just a few days too early for me. I was hoping it was going to get better and better, but instead it got worse and worse so I had to come off.

"But it was just one of those games where I was desperate to play. It was a big occasion for Blackburn, I thought our fans were brilliant, and I was just desperate to be a part of it."

Nelsen spent six months on the sidelines earlier this season, recovering from an operation to repair a detached hamstring.

He finally made his long-awaited return to action in January, when Rovers thrashed Luton Town 4-0 in the fourth round of the Cup, and his leadership qualities have since been central in the club's charge to the semi-finals, most notably when they recorded two clean sheets in the fifth round defeat of Arsenal.

However, it appears the defender dislodged some scar tissue when he stretched to make a late clearance during the closing minutes of Rovers' recent victory at Bolton, and it flared up once again at the weekend.

But the problem is not considered to be too serious, meaning Nelsen should be free to spearhead the club's charge for Europe.

Sunday's pulsating victory over City saw Rovers secure a second FA Cup semi-final appearance in three years under Hughes.

The last time they reached the last four, in 2005, they were humbled by Arsenal in Cardiff, but Nelsen believes Rovers are now a far more formidable force, and the prospect of a semi-final meeting with the winners of the replay between Tottenham and Chelsea holds no fears.

"When any team gets to a semi-final, you feel like you're nearly there," said the Kiwi.

"It's going to be a big obstacle to get through, but it's exciting.

"I can remember two years ago it was an exciting time as well, but this time I think we'll be a bit more hardened to it, and we're probably a better side as well.

"I'm sure a lot of people felt we were fortunate to get that far two years ago.

"But I think we've definitely earned it this time.

"We've had the hardest run of probably any team in the semi-finals, and I think we really deserve to be in this position."