Rovers will remain without Sam Gallagher for at least another two games as the club continue to take a cautious approach with the attacker.

Gallagher has missed three matches with a calf problem sustained in the win at Derby County and is set to be absent for the two matches this week as well.

The 26-year-old has started 12 matches for Rovers, scoring five goals, but a disrupted pre-season appears to have hampered his fitness.

With Ian Poveda set to be sidelined for a considerable period with a fractured leg and ankle ligament damage, Mowbray’s attacking options are further limited by Gallagher’s continued absence, with Tyrhys Dolan set for a recall against Peterborough United.

“No, Sam is not quite ready yet,” Mowbray said.

“It seems to have dragged on a while, I’ve had pretty long, intense meetings with the medical department about Sam, the outcome is that he’s not ready this week.

“We’d have hoped for Saturday (against Stoke City) but that’s a considerable doubt now also.

“It’s not as if he’s weeks and weeks away, he’s maybe a week to 10 days away.

“The fear is bringing him back a few days early and then he could be out for five or six weeks so if we have to give him a few more days off and after this game it’s more Saturday-Saturday games which will be a help for Sam.”

Gallagher had a disrupted pre-season for the second summer running after picking up a calf injury on the first day back. He was able to start Rovers’ first six matches before his first two-week absence with his latest injury set to keep him out for at least five games.

The likely return date would appear to be the visit of Preston North End on December 4.

“I think back to the first day of pre-season when they do testing and he pulled his calf muscle,” Mowbray added.

“He missed a considerable amount of time.

“When he’s on the grass he does huge physical numbers for us and he gets around the pitch, sprints a lot and his high intensity running is very high. A combination of all of those things

“The fear is that the load going through his body we have to make sure that we’re not risking him and that he’s not breaking down in the first game back because at times he doesn’t have a filter, he keeps ploughing on, running and sprinting.

“It’s a blow for us because his attributes in this league are really good, he has helped our team and he looked as though he was going to score goals for us on a regular basis.

“It’s a bit frustrating for us, he helps with set plays for and against which is so important in this league and hopefully he won’t be too long.”