Blackburn Rovers have suffered a significant injury blow ahead of their trip to Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day.
Leading scorer Bradley Dack will miss the rest of the season after picking up a cruciate knee ligament injury in Monday night’s stalemate with local rivals Wigan Athletic at Ewood Park, described as a cruel blow by boss Tony Mowbray.
Rovers’ talisman Dack has 10 goals to his name this season and the devastating prognosis of the leading scorer was confirmed by Mowbray after the draw with Birmingham City on Boxing Day, which left the Lancashire side a point behind Forest in the race for the top six.
“Dack’s unavailable now for a while, so we’ll have to find that creativity from someone else now,” said Mowbray.
“We’ve had a diagnosis, he’s had scans and it’s what we initially feared.
“He’s having his anterior cruciate ligament repaired within a week to ten days because he needs to let the swelling settle down.
“He’ll have a lengthy period out because of that ACL and will miss the rest of the season as well as maybe a month or two of next season.
“It’s a cruel blow for everyone of course, including the football club and Bradley in particular.
“Our thoughts go to him.
“The hard work, the rehabilitation, the hours, the work, that will begin once he’s had his operation.
“He’ll come back stronger, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s important to get his knee as strong as possible for when he returns.”
