Ryan Nyambe and Lewis Holtby will be involved in the decision as to when they return to action, Tony Mowbray has said.

Nyambe has missed Rovers’ last two games having been forced to self-isolate, returning to training on Monday for the first time in 2021.

The right-back, who has also nursed a sore hamstring since the defeat to Huddersfield Town on December 29, missed the FA Cup defeat to Doncaster and the win at Birmingham City.

In his absence, Barry Douglas and John Buckley have filled in at right back which had become a problem position with the 23-year-old has been out.

Holtby too has a sore hamstring which has kept him out of the last two matches, with the pair two of nine players who missed the Doncaster defeat.

Nyambe looks the most likely to return in time for this weekend’s visit of Stoke City, but Mowbray could offer no certainty to that, or to Holtby’s likely involvement.

“I don’t know, I’m not the medics, I’ll get the reports,” he said.

“He might be ready for this weekend, or it might be the one after.

“I will look at the squad and the team and make a decision.

“The physios don’t decide whether the players play, I decide that with the player himself and we’ll decide how important it is for Holtby, or Nyambe.

“I’ll speak to them and see if it’s worth putting them in even if the medics might think it needs another few days. We’ll wait and see.”

Dan Butterworth is another who could return for the weekend visit of the Potters, having made his long-awaited return in the game at the bet365 Stadium last month.

However, Rovers will remain without Daniel Ayala with his hamstring strain set to sideline him for much of the month.

He adds his name to an injury list which already includes long-term absentees Scott Wharton, Derrick Williams, Corry Evans, Joe Rankin-Costello and Elliott Bennett, though the latter pair are pushing forward in their rehabilitation ahead of returns to action next month.