Here is a round-up of Rovers stories from the last 24 hours, from Ben Brereton’s injury, more contracts on the way, internationals, and cup draws.

 

PRECAUTIONARY SUB

There was a concern when Ben Brereton was replaced early in the second half of Chile’s friendly win over Paraguay due to reports of an injury.

It is understood that was a precautionary measure after a slight concern with his hamstring.

Brereton was understood to be fine after the game, but the Rovers medical team will wait to assess the club’s top scorer upon his return to Brockhall after a long-haul flight from Santiago.

The 23-year-old went into the break on the back of goals in three successive matches after a period out of the side.

He didn’t start five successive matches, which include a one-game absence due to a minor hamstring injury, but scored against Stoke City, Reading and Sheffield United heading into the break.

Rovers will hope to have their 14-goal top scorer available for their return to action at Birmingham City this weekend.

 

BROUGHTON’S BUSY PERIOD

Rovers have now announced three new contracts during the international break, with two more set to follow in the coming days.

Jake Garrett penned a new four-year deal last week, and that was followed by goalkeepers Jordan Eastham and Joe Hilton signing two-year extensions.

More Academy graduates, but ones with more regular first-team action, are set to follow suit and should be made public before the return to action this weekend.

While Eastham and Hilton were out of contract this summer, director of football Gregg Broughton has turned his attention to those players whose deals expire in 2024, with a view to agreeing fresh terms ahead of them heading into their final year, or relying on options.

It is that forward-planning the club hope will alleviate the issues which saw three first-team players leave on free transfers last summer, and the prospect of Ben Brereton doing likewise this summer.

These next two contracts will take the club into double figures for contract extensions since Broughton’s appointment last June.

As well as protecting value, the club are also looking to bring their homegrown players in line with the rest of the squad so that their salaries reflect their standing, with Academy graduates often at the lower end of the pay scale.

Aside from the playing staff, Broughton has also been looking to secure a new head of recruitment for the club.

That follows the departure of Gus Williams who left after just seven months in the job to return to the Wales Football Association.

The search for a new head of recruitment is understood to be at an advanced stage however, with the club working to finalise an appointment which would be well in advance of the summer window.

 

CUP DRAWS

Rovers Under-21s haven’t had the easiest season in Premier League 2, but have found success in the cup competitions, with two semi-finals to look forward to.

The first will be in the Premier League Cup. Following victories in the knockout stages at Huddersfield Town and Southampton, Mike Sheron’s side are on home soil for the semi-final.

They will host Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park on Tuesday, April 11 (7pm) with a place in the final against Brentford or Fulham awaiting the winner.

No date has yet been set for the Lancashire Senior Cup semi-finals, where Rovers booked their place with victory over Preston North End last week.

However, the draw has pitted Rovers against Burnley in the first semi-final, with the winner of Accrington Stanley v Rochdale to face Barrow in the other last four tie.

Burnley have been drawn as the home team, with their Under-21s fixtures shared between their Barnfield Training Centre base and Lancashire FA headquarters at Leyland, which is Rovers’ designated home ground for the Under-21s.

The venue and date will be confirmed in due course.

 

ENGLAND UNDER-19S REPORT

Ash Phillips cruised through 90 minutes as England Under-19s beat Turkey Under-19s 2-0 at Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium.

The Rovers defender put in an assured performance at centre half as the young Lions ran out comfortable winners.

Adam Wharton also made his third appearance of the break, coming on for the final few minutes, having started the previous game.

England needed a win to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the Under-19s European Championships, with three points from their two previous games.

While they held up their end of their bargain, Iceland, who beat England 1-0 last weekend, finished top of the group with seven points to qualify for the finals.

Phillips was one of only three outfield players to start all three qualification games in the space of a week, having also done likewise in the October break.

England were wasteful in the first half, with wayward efforts from striker Sonny Perkins and winger George Hall.

They did go close before the break though, a reverse shot from the edge of the box from Kobbie Maimoo forcing a good save out of Jankat Yilmaz.

England forced the issue for much of the first half, but couldn’t make their dominance count, while Turkey had precious few opportunities on the break, though Mehmet Buyuksayar did draw a save out of James Beadle when cutting in from the left.

England did find their breakthrough just two minutes into the second half, however. George Hall whipped in a cross from the left that was controlled in an instant by Amario Cozier-Duberry before his first time shot found the corner.

A move then started by Phillips bringing the ball out from the back ended with Cozier-Duberry’s cross finding Perkins whose first-time shot from six yards was kept out by an incredible Yilmaz save.

The game started to open up and on the hour England No.1 Beadle produced an equally impressive reflex save to deny Emre Demir from close range.

That proved crucial as England doubled their advantage in the 64th minute as George Hall glanced in a Cozier-Duberry corner from close range.

England were now dominant, with Mainoo, Hall and substitute Reyes Cleary all denied by good Yilmaz saves as he kept the score down to two.

However, a 2-0 victory for Hungary saw them finish on seven points, and eliminate England who could only manage six from the three games.

 

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

It was a quiet night elsewhere for Rovers’ international crop.

Sorba Thomas was an unused substitute for Wales in their win over Latvia in Cardiff.

The on-loan winger had played 35 minutes of the weekend draw with Croatia for what was his ninth cap.

However, he couldn’t build on that on a night where Kieffer Moore’s first half goal helped make it four points from two games for Rob Page’s side.

Dom Hyam was once again an unused substitute for Scotland as they shocked Spain with a 2-0 win.

Hyam received his first senior call-up last week, but as was the case for Saturday’s win over Cyprus, the defender was unused for the game at Hampden Park.

Thomas Kaminski’s wait for his first Belgium cap also goes on, but he was on the bench for the 3-2 win over Germany.

Kaminski hadn’t been included in the squad the win over Sweden last Friday, but Thibaut Courtois’ withdrawal from the squad saw the 30-year-old elevate to third choice and among the substitutes.

The trio will all now return to Rovers and re-join the squad ahead of this weekend’s return to action.