Tyler Morton has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a fracture in his foot.

The Liverpool loanee will require an operation on the injury that he sustained in the first half against Preston North End.

The 20-year-old played on until his withdrawal late in the game but that will be his final appearance of the season due to the injury.

"We have another injured player, Morton is out for the season, he has a fracture on his foot. He got it in the first half, he played the whole second half, he's incredible, a tough boy,” Jon Dahl Tomasson revealed.

"He couldn't walk after, he will have an operation. It's disappointing as it's a position we are stretched.

"We are disappointed, that is football, we can't turn it around. He had a lot of pain at half-time but played the second half and that shows the character of the boy with a fracture.

"Others need to grab the chance."

Morton's injury could open up with the opportunity for Jake Garrett to return to the side, with the teenager having started the reverse fixture against Burnley at Turf Moor in November. 

The North End appearance was Morton’s 46th of the season.

He joined on a season-long loan from Liverpool last summer, a move that Rovers said would not hamper the longer-term development of Adam Wharton and Garrett.

On how that was panned out, Tomasson said: “He was for sure the best player at the time, and the best player if you look at the training and performance, he’s been excellent for Rovers.

“You can’t expect more from a young boy where he’s touching the ball a lot, so it’s been a good loan for him and a good loan for Rovers as well.

“Tyler has been more ready during the whole season, more than the other boys.

“If you look at the way Adam has developed, he understands what it’s about playing football in the last period.

“We all knew he had (the talent) and now he’s doing the other things which he didn’t do before, that’s development and great to see.

“We should be proud of that.”

Tomasson does have the option of moving Joe Rankin-Costello or Tayo Edun into midfield, or to drop Sam Szmodics and Bradley Dack into a deeper role.

“Then you need to turn things around, put different players in different positions,” Tomasson said.

“You can play Joe, Tayo, Bradley or Sammie, those are the options we have.

“(Harley) O’Grady-Macken is doing well for the Under-21s, a box-to-box player but very young of course."

The likelihood is that teenagers Wharton and Garrett will partner Travis in midfield, reducing the average of the side yet still.

“It’s a big responsibility but it’s also an opportunity, you can always turn it around into something positive for a young player to get the opportunity to play," Tomasson said.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ayala made his return to action for the Under-21s, after two months out with a hamstring injury, and played 45 minutes in Sunday's defeat to Manchester City.

Sam Gallagher will again be missing with a hamstring injury that forced him off against Coventry City, with John Buckley and Jack Vale longer-term concerns.

Tayo Edun has returned to training after a spell on the sidelines with a concussion.