Joe Nuttall may have to wait until January to go out on loan following the news of Dominic Samuel’s knee injury.

Samuel looks set to be sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury picked up in the 2-2 draw with Reading last week.

Nuttall replaced him on that day, and has started each of Rovers’ last two matches.

The 21-year-old, who was the top scorer across Premier League 2 football last season, had been expected to leave Ewood Park on loan this season.

But the boss revealed this morning that now appears unlikely, and has spoken with Nuttall about his situation.

“It was a possibility yesterday,” Mowbray said of the chances of Nuttall leaving on loan.

“Joe fully understands, I’ve sat him down and spoken to him.

“I still find that Joe will be down the pecking order in terms of front players with Graham, Brereton, Armstrong and then the likes of Bradley who can play as a false nine.

“There’s lots of options for us but Joe understands with Dominic being unavailable that if nothing comes to the fore that’s right for us, right for him and his development, it’s a fine balance.

“With young players they should really be going out to play, particularly forwards, to go out and score some goals and build their confidence.

“Joe had a year last year where he scored a lot of goals for the Under-23s and had some recognition from the wider football world, a lot of people have asked me about Nuttall.

“Let’s see what today brings, but at this moment he’s staying here and he understands that.

“If he’s down the list then some days he will be on the bench, some he won’t, but he has to continue scoring goals for the Under-23s and if he has to wait until January, let’s see how much game-time he gets.

“You have to put in to the context he’s played our last three games at first-team level.”