Tony Mowbray feels Rovers have rushed players back previously and want to avoid a similar situation with any of their current injured players.

Bradley Johnson and Joe Rankin-Costello have both been back on the training pitch in the last few weeks, but have now been out of action for over one month and three months respectively.

Rankin-Costello has played twice for the Under-23s since returning from his hamstring injury sustained at Luton Town in November, playing 45 minutes in the win over West Ham and 76 minutes last week’s draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Johnson meanwhile, has missed the six-game winless run, as well as the win over Luton Town, with a hamstring injury picked up against Middlesbrough last month.

The 33-year-old has started 20 of the 22 matches in which he’s been available this season, scoring three times, and captained the side in December’s defeat at Bristol City.

But Mowbray says neither will be travelling with the squad to Reading, with Lewis Holtby and Daniel Ayala still not back training as yet.

“Bradley Johnson is on the grass, he probably won’t be coming with us to the game against Reading, I would hope that he has half a chance for the weekend because he’s joining with training,” Mowbray said.

“He’s been out for five weeks now, hopefully he’ll be available for the weekend, but the other two (Holtby and Ayala) aren’t in the picture.”

On Rankin-Costello, he added: “I think he has a better chance for the weekend than this game.

“Let’s wait and see, I’m probably not going to take them with us so they can get some training done, work pretty hard on the grass and get their legs ready for the upcoming matches.”

Ben Brereton started Rovers’ opening 15 games but then missed two months of action with a knee injury. He’s found starts hard to come by of late, but was recalled to the side against Coventry City, scoring the opening goal.

That made it five for the season, and two in as many games after scoring off the bench against Watford.

Mowbray has seen Bradley Dack and Lewis Travis struggle to find their best form after extended time out injured, and also lost Derrick Williams to a potentially season ending injury after just returning to action, while Daniel Ayala has also had an injury-hit campaign coming in and out of the side.

“I think every player who has been injured, or had Covid, I think unless they’ve only been out for a week or 10 days then you have to try and manage them back in,” Mowbray said.

“I think we have rushed players back because of necessity and not having a team and hoping they will hit the ground running.

“Corry Evans is a case of hitting the ground running and done exceptionally well having been out for the length of time he’s been out.

“But talking about Dack and Travis they have found it more difficult to get up to speed and we’ve tried to do that by giving them minutes and game-time and the lads coming back, that’s what we’ve  found.

“Rankin-Costello, he’s played a couple of Under-23s games, when’s he ready to start for the first-team? Probably not at the moment, same as Bradley Johnson.

“I think it’ll benefit them more working hard, getting their legs ready, and then contributing when they can and when we feel it’s right for them.

“That will be the case when Ayala is ready and when Holtby is ready.

“We have to manage them back into the team.”