BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes is hopeful his defensive rock Ryan Nelsen WILL be fit to face Wayne Rooney and Manchester United this weekend.

The Kiwi defender has been troubled by a niggling hamstring problem since the 2-0 FA Cup quarter final win over Manchester City two weeks ago, an injury which resulted in him being withdrawn last week from both of New Zealand's international friendlies with Costa Rica and Venezuela.

However, Rovers are quietly confident their talismanic skipper will return to training tomorrow and, assuming there's no further set-backs over the next few days, he should be ready to lead the team against Sir Alex Ferguson's Premiership champions in waiting.

Nelsen has been a pivotal figure for Rovers since he returned to the side following a nine month injury lay-off at the end of January.

Rovers have kept five clean sheets in the 10 games Nelsen has featured in this season, and four of those came in his last five appearances, with Bolton's Nicolas Anelka being the only man to beat Brad Friedel during that period.

To have Nelsen back for the trip to Old Trafford would therefore be a massive boost as Rovers prepare to face an in-form United side that has scored in 20 successive games since they last drew a blank against West Ham United on December 17.