Ben Brereton could miss two Rovers matches during his time away with Chile.

Talks remain ongoing between the club and the Chilean FA with regards to the timing of Brereton meeting up with the national team for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Chile face Argentina in the early hours of January 28 and then Bolivia on February 2 (8pm) and despite the games falling outside of an international window, Rovers have to agree to his release under FIFA rules.

Rovers have always expected Brereton to miss the trip to Luton Town on Saturday, January 29 but after the game with Middlesbrough was switched to Monday, January 24 for Sky Sports coverage it has led to the prospect of him missing two matches.

His call-up is expected to be confirmed next week, with the squad to meet up on the weekend of January 22/23, prior to Rovers' Boro visit.

Tony Mowbray said of his top scorer: “I have spoken to Ben about it, those conversations are ongoing and I wouldn’t want to pre-empt what might happen with that.

“We know that he has to go and he will be going, it’s just what day he goes.”

Brereton missed the September qualifiers due to Covid restrictions that were in place and despite threatening FIFA action, Chile climbed down on that stance allowing him to feature against Luton Town.

The 22-year-old then played in all three matches in October, scoring in wins over Paraguay and Venezuela.

He was in the Rovers squad for the 2-2 draw with Coventry City despite only returning from South America in the early hours of the morning and has featured in every Rovers game this season.

The forward teamed up with Chile again in November, starting the 1-0 win over Paraguay but missed the defeat to Ecuador due to suspension and returned to Rovers.

Chile are sixth in their World Cup qualification group and likely need at least three wins for their remaining four matches, with two more to come in March, to be in with a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Brereton has won nine caps for Chile, scoring three goals and is set to earn his latest call-up to Martin Lasarte’s side.

Their March qualifiers see them face Brazil and Uruguay but neither will impact on his involvement in Rovers fixtures.