Blackburn Rovers dealt major Ben Brereton Diaz blow ahead of Sheffield United visit

Blackburn Rovers have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of promotion after Tony Mowbray confirmed that Ben Brereton Diaz has damaged ligaments in his ankle.

The 22-year-old, who is Blackburn's top scorer with 20 goals this season, was initially thought to have twisted his ankle in the 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion last Monday.

However, Mowbray revealed that Brereton will now definitely miss the game at Sheffield United on Wednesday, as well as pivotal clashes against Queens Park Rangers and league leaders Fulham.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "He's damaged some ankle ligaments, so we won't be seeing him for a while. Is it four weeks? Six weeks? Eight weeks? Ten weeks? I don't know.

"Ben will be ready when he's ready, we'll have to get on without him for the short term, and let's hope he can impact the end of our season.

"It's frustrating for us, and for him. There's a chance he'll miss his game against Brazil next month. But everyone heals at different speeds."

This could be huge in the race for promotion to the Premier League and it gives United a boost ahead of the fixture at Bramall Lane, with Brereton directly involved in 48% of their goals this season.

Rovers are third in the Championship table, but have won just one of their last six matches before travelling to six-place Blades, who will be keen to extend their unbeaten run.

Meanwhile, Ian Poveda sustained a serious knee injury earlier in the season and he could return before the end of the season.

Bradley Dack is still some time away from coming back to senior action, while Deyo Zeefuik is still not fit enough to face the Blades.

He added: "Ian's not too far from joining us, whether he can get fit to join us before the end of the season, we'll have