Blackburn Rovers overcoming their own squad illness for Middlesbrough after postponed game

Blackburn Rovers boss John Eustace is hoping his side will be fit and firing for their trip to Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening, after a recent illness in the squad had many struggling for the game on Saturday which ended up being postponed.

Blackburn had been due to host Portsmouth on Saturday at Ewood Park only for heavy rainfall to cause a postponement, with Eustace instead rushing to Oxford to take in Boro's big win ahead of Wednesday. It means when Blackburn take to the field against Boro at the Riverside, it will be their first game for over two weeks - though given the illness in their squad ahead of the weekend, it might have been a blessing in disguise.

Eustace said: "We had a bit of sickness in the camp on Thursday and Friday. There were a couple of boys missing from that. So, if you put a positive on things, we have everyone back now and we’re ready to go. They were still available but they weren't fully fit and this extra couple of days means they're now in a better place.

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"Owen [Beck] had a bit of a virus and he was going to be missing on Saturday, but he’ll be back involved now. Siggy [Arnor Sigurdsson] is still struggling at the moment but might be available. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Blackburn's issue comes at the same time that Boro are also struggling with an illness going through their camp. Having lost Neto Borges against Luton and Seny Dieng for Oxford, Michael Carrick revealed ahead of this one that there were two or three more afflicted and needing to be assessed ahead of Wednesday's kick-off.

As far as preparing for the trip in the absence of a match, Eustace continued: "It has been a while now but we've been able to do some good sessions and been able to rest a few who needed it. We've had two weeks for the international break, the lads needed a rest. It's only a couple of extra days but it's given us some good time on the training pitch.

"Everyone was very disappointed that we couldn't get the game on. We came back to the training ground and trained in the afternoon which was really important. The effort of the ground staff all week, especially here at the training ground, has been phenomenal. We've been allowed to train every day despite the snow and the conditions. They have worked tirelessly to make sure the boys could work properly."

Blackburn are expected to have two former Boro players in their side at the Riverside. Aynsley Pears is in fine form for them this term, while Danny Batth has missed only three league games so far this term. Meanwhile, Tyrhys Dolan could return to the side after suspension, with long-term absentees Hayden Carter and Scott Wharton the only known players who won't be involved.

Previewing their Teesside trip, Eustace said: “It’s the same as every Championship game. It’s an opportunity to exploit what they’re good at and what they’re not so good at. They’re a top team, they’ve got fantastic players there, they’re recruited very well and are very dangerous going forward. They have a really good manager and good coaching staff as well.

“They’re a top team in the league and it’s a game we’re really looking forward to because it’s been a couple of weeks since we had that win at Cardiff. The lads have trained really, really well over the last couple of weeks and it’s good to go up against a good team and see where we are. The next couple of games see us go up against two teams that you expect to be in the top six and they’re two good challenges for us.”