Rovers fear that Scott Wharton faces an extended period on the sidelines after being taken off on a stretcher in the 2-2 draw at Brentford.

Tony Mowbray revealed it was an injury to the defender’s Achilles tendon that forced him off, having gone down in the middle of the pitch with no-one around him.

Wharton was picked ahead of Daniel Ayala, a show of faith in the 23-year-old who was immediately restored to the starting line-up after missing the Millwall win with concussion.

The defender was seen taking his place among the substitutes in the second half, with the use of crutches, and Mowbray was disappointed for Wharton himself given his progress this season.

“Achilles tendon. It’s a pretty serious injury. We’ll know more when he’s had a scan,” the manager said.

“It’s a real, real shame for the lad and we hope it’s not as serious as we might think.”

Rovers lost Wharton to injury, as Ayala came on in his place, only for Darragh Lenihan to be sent off just before the break when conceding a penalty for a foul on Ivan Toney.

That made for another reshuffle in the defence, with John Buckley slotting in at right back as Ryan Nyambe moved into central defence.

Another defensive switch came at the break, Amari’i Bell introduced in place of Barry Douglas who had only just returned from a muscle injury.

Mowbray hopes that Derrick Williams, who has been out for five weeks with a quadricep injury, will be back for the midweek game at Bristol City.

Asked about his defensive re-shuffle, the manager said of Buckley: “He plays there most Friday’s when we play 10v10 because we have that many midfield players.

“We put him at right back and he’s someone who can deliver with the ball.

“Physically it’s a big ask for him I would suggest, I wouldn’t pigeon hole him as a right back.

“I made the decision that we didn’t need two centre halves on the bench because we brought Hayden Carter with us.

“Thankfully Nyambe can play inside and his ability to play one-v-one, is there a faster, stronger defender in the league than Ryan Nyambe?

“Yet he’s not a centre half, he struggles with the angles at times, but I think he can mark anyone in this division.”