Rovers fans will today learn of their expected return date to Ewood Park as the club plan to unveil a first home friendly in three years against Premier League opposition.

Season ticket details are also set to be announced as Rovers gear up for the return of supporters ahead of the 2021/22. It will be 19 months since supporters were last inside Ewood when they host Premier League opposition in their penultimate friendly which will come inbetween games at Bradford City (July 24) and Bolton Wanderers (July 31).

Those will be after the current coronavirus restrictions are set to be lifted, with Rovers working to finalise plans of how many supporters will be able to watch what will be a first home friendly since July 2018 when they welcomed both Liverpool and Everton to Ewood.

This summer’s opposition will be confirmed this afternoon, but will provide the toughest test in the lead up to the 2021/22 campaign.

Teams’ preparations for next season have been affected by the changing restrictions, meaning friendlies have been harder to announce. Rovers hope to announce at least one more match as they gear up for the Championship season.

Rovers will return to pre-season training later this month, before a first friendly of the summer against AFC Fylde on July 10.

Plans for a pre-season trip have been hampered by the coronavirus restrictions which looked to have put pay to any hopes of travelling to Europe, the club having preferred to spend the early part of the summer in Austria for much of Mowbray’s time in charge.

The off-season has offered the club a chance to relay the pitch at Ewood Park, alongside those at Brockhall.

There had been plans for a complete reconstruction of the playing surface, with a tendering process undertaken, but a bill of close to £2m was deemed to be costly for it to be approved by the owners.

The break from the final day game against Birmingham City on May 8, and first friendly some 11 weeks later, will offer the surface enough time to be adequately prepared.

Steve Waggott has stated the work on the pitch has also included an upgrade to the lighting equipment given the issues created by a lack of sunlight at the Darwen End part of the pitch, with the total cost of the works being in the region of £500,000.

The Championship fixtures will be released next Thursday (June 24), with the EFL season set to get under way on the weekend of August 7, with Rovers set to start with a home fixture.

That is because the Premier League has already revealed their fixtures ahead of their August 14 start, with Burnley starting their campaign by hosting Brighton, and the sides not playing at home on the same weekend.

Meanwhile, the club’s deal with kit manufacturer Macron will kick in on July 1 and the hope is for the home and away kits to be unveiled in time for the first friendly.