Sam Szmodics is available for Rovers’ trip to Wigan Athletic – but doubts remain over the involvement of Daniel Ayala.

Szmodics wasn’t involved against Bristol City having missed last week’s training sessions due to the concussion protocol after his withdrawal against Stoke City.

Defender Ayala has missed the last two matches with a calf problem and while he has taken part in some training this week, he is still doubtful for this weekend’s game.

Callum Brittain and Sam Gallagher remain on the sidelines but have stepped up their returns with time on the training pitches this week, with Scott Wharton also on the comeback trail.

“We have a couple of players who have been out for a while,” head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson said.

“Sam Gallagher has trained a little bit, but not with the squad, Callum the same, Scott has been more or less involved, without being 100 per cent involved in everything, and Ayala was also on the pitch today.

“Sam Szmodics is available. He had a head injury, which he needed to follow the protocol, which is great protocol to follow to make sure we take care of them.

“He will be available.”

On the prospect of Ayala being available this weekend, Tomasson said: “Let’s see how things are tomorrow.

“It’s early days, he just did a bit.

“We’ll need to see if there’s a reaction, how he feels, can he train tomorrow and then we’ll know more tomorrow.”

While Ayala has missed two games, Brittain, Gallagher and Wharton have been sidelined for a couple of weeks.

Tomasson says their comebacks have to be managed separately given their respective absences.

He said: “You need to be very realistic.

“If a player has been out for 10 days, or four weeks, for example there’s a big difference in loads during that time.

“It’s a positive in terms of getting numbers back because the squad has been really stretched in a new period.

“That’s a positive and then they can start competing, pushing each other, demand of each other, to perform.

“That’s very healthy for the dressing room, for the club and for me as a manager you have to disappoint people, but it’s good for the competition and I’m looking forward to that.”

Tomasson welcomed the lack of a midweek game so to work with his squad for an extended period of time this week.

That has enabled him to further integrate his new signings, including George Hirst who made his debut against Bristol City. The striker played 60 minutes before being replaced having only made one appearance this season for Leicester City Under-21s.

“If you look back I think he did a good start,” Tomasson said.

“I spoke to him after the game and he thought it was a different intensity because he hadn’t played that much.

“He’s one of the players we need to give minutes to and build, that’s normally better to do in pre-season but that’s not the circumstances so we have to deal with that.

“You saw that the first 40 seconds the way he ran in behind, and something we should have used way more, that was a good move so we know what the boy can do.”

TAKE OUT A SUBSCRIPTION...

GAIN UNLIMITED AND UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO THE LANCASHIRE TELEGRAPH WEBSITE WITH A PREMIUM DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION