CRAIG Conway could miss the start of Rovers’ League One campaign with a hamstring injury, but Darragh Lenihan and Corry Evans should return to the squad for Friday’s trip to Carlisle United.

The trio all missed Tuesday’s win at Grimsby Town in which a Danny Graham goal gave Rovers a fourth win in five pre-season outings.

Conway also sat out the two games last week, an 8-0 win at York City and a 2-1 win at Morecambe, with the injury which could see him miss the early weeks of the season.

However, the injury to the the 32-year-old, a goalscorer in the win at Barrow on July 8, is not expected to keep him out for an extended period of time.  

Rovers face a busy start to the season, with the potential for seven games in the opening month should they progress in the EFL Cup, and boss Tony Mowbray will not want to be without one of his most experienced players for any considerable length of time.

Lenihan, who has twice played 90 minutes so far in pre-season, missed the Grimsby win with a sore knee, with Elliott Ward and Charlie Mulgrew partnering each other in defence.

But the Irishman, who has twice played 90 minutes so far in pre-season, is expected to be in the squad which travels to Carlisle for Rovers’ final pre-season friendly on Friday.

The same goes for Corry Evans who limped out of last Friday’s win at Morecambe in the closing stages after taking a knock to the ankle when blocking a shot.

However, Scott Wharton could also be ruled out for the start of the season after picking up an injury in training.

“Darragh has a knock on the outside of his knee which is a bit sore but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue – he has a chance for Friday,” Mowbray explained.

“Corry should be all right for Friday, another two or three days, he just had a knock to his ankle in a tackle in the last game.

“Craig will probably miss the start of the season, another couple of weeks and then he will have to come back and start training.  It’s just a hamstring problem, it’s not a long-term thing, just another week or so.

“Scott Wharton will be out for a few weeks.”