Rovers will continue to rotate their side during a busy run of games, with Tony Mowbray mindful of the small squad at his disposal.

Joe Rothwell was dropped to the bench for the first time this season, while John Buckley was left out for only a second time, as Mowbray went for fresh legs in midfield at QPR

Lewis Travis had played every minute of action until limping off in midweek where Mowbray made four changes including handing Dan Butterworth a first start.

Injuries to Travis (dead leg) and Harry Pickering (calf) will lead to more changes against Reading on Saturday where Mowbray will have to decide whether to stick with his post-international break policy of a three-man defence.

“We have a really important game on Saturday against Reading and I think what is a small squad needs to be rotated because they can’t keep playing every three days and expect them to perform at the level we need,” Mowbray said.

Butterworth became the 18th player to start a Championship fixture for Rovers this season, with 22 players used in all.

Tayo Edun and Jan Paul van Hecke have come into the side since the international break, while Liverpool loanee Leighton Clarkson was handed his first start in a month when recalled at QPR.

Rovers had named a settled side in the opening weeks of the season, seven players starting all of the opening eight matches, but injuries, unavailability, plus the need to rotate have seen things change up in recent matches.

Asked if he felt enough players had taken their chance, Mowbray said: “I think so.

“You almost have plans in your mind of who is going to play 90 minutes, 60 minutes, your changes are in your mind before you start these games depending on how the game flows, but generally every manager has a thought of how each game is going to go.

“I expected them to have a lot of the ball and try and cut through us, Mark (Warburton) played a lot of technical players against us, so we knew that they would have a lot of the ball and we set up to try and make it difficult for them.

“We frustrated them, and we were hoping on the back of nicking it we would score.

“It wasn’t magic from (Ilias) Chair, it was a shot that bent around one of our players and yet the two midfield players who were around him should have shown a little bit more intensity to get closer and block.”

Brighton loanee Reda Khadra has missed Rovers’ last two matches because of illness, but has returned to training this week, leading to the prospect of him returning to the squad against Reading.

Scott Wharton is still working his way to fitness, and a third Under-23s outing on his comeback from a ruptured Achilles could come in Monday’s Premier League 2 date with Liverpool at Leyland (7pm), where Joe Rankin-Costello could also feature.