Bradley Dack is pencilled in to step up his rehabilitation with an outing for Rovers Under-23s next week.

Dack returned after 11 months out in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Sheffield United on Tuesday, coming through 45 minutes in the 2-2 draw.

The 26-year-old will continue training with the squad for the next week before his likely involvement for the Under-23s against Everton next Friday (7pm), rather than Monday's game at Brighton.

His outing on Tuesday was his first action in 330 days having undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in the 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic in December 2019.

Rovers hope to integrate Dack back into the first-team fold in the coming weeks, with minutes for Billy Barr’s side the next stage of his rehabilitation.

“The plan is to get him back on the grass working with the team, back in training, not to sit him on a coach for four or five hours to Brighton, but potentially to see how his training week goes and then get him game-time against Everton on Friday,” boss Tony Mowbray said.

“There’s no set plan in stone, we’ll see how training goes, how he feels, and if he’s ready to play another hour or so on Friday night against Everton then that will be the case.”

Dack has been an popular figure at the club since his arrival from Gillingham in 2017, finishing as top scorer in two of his three seasons at the club.

He reached double figures for the third successive season before injury struck late last year, with Dack having since undergone almost a year of rehabilitation.

Several of the squad watched his comeback match on Tuesday and Mowbray admits his return to training has given the whole squad a lift.

Mowbray has already seen signs of Dack’s unquestioned quality in training and is looking forward to welcoming him back into the first-team picture.

“Dack coming back on the training ground these last 10 days, he’s lit it up. Every player has risen their game by 10 or 20 per cent, training has been unbelievable,” he explained.

“Seeing him back on the grass has given the whole squad an emotional lift. As a coach, just to see his talent, you can forget what he does and how he can change the game with one bit of skill.

“He oozes confidence, quality, picking passes that people just don’t see and his finishing has been amazing, putting the ball in the top and bottom corners.

“We need to get him back as quickly as we can, but not rushed, get him some more game-time, and see if we can filter him into the first-team off the bench in the next few weeks.”

Dack’s return has been counted down by supporters who are itching to see the club’s star man back in action.

Mowbray shares that excitement, certain that Dack will bring added quality to the squad, but knows first he must be right physically.

“It’s exciting times, but I don’t want to get too excited my job is to fit everyone into the team and he’s been out for a long time with a serious injury and we have to feed him back into our team,” Mowbray added.

“We’re not concerned about the quality, because it’s there, the drive and enthusiasm he brings.

“It’s something we’re looking forward to adding to this group and it will only add and help make us stronger.”