Blackburn Rovers Injury List Eases but Ryotaro Ito Deal Collapses
Tony Mowbray says Blackburn Rovers’ injury list is finally starting to relent – but their move for free agent Ryotaro Ito has all but collapsed.
Rovers went into Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat at home to Sheffield United without a single recognised centre-forward, forced to push Jayden Fevrier into a false nine role with Andri Gudjohnsen sidelined. The reshuffle underlined how stretched Mowbray’s squad has been in the opening weeks of the season.
Gudjohnsen, who had already logged 418 minutes across Blackburn’s first five matches, has been one of the few constants in attack, with Mathias Jorgensen and Yuki Ohashi both ruled out for several more weeks. That left Mowbray to improvise against the Blades – and pay the price.
Now, at last, there is a sliver of relief.
Strikers edging back
Mowbray confirmed Gudjohnsen returned to training on Thursday and is in contention to feature against Millwall at Ewood Park on Saturday (15:00 BST). The Iceland international may not be fully up to speed, but even his presence on the teamsheet would be a significant boost.
There is also hope that Moussa Baradji could make his first appearance of the season, with the forward being lined up for a possible role off the bench.
“It’s starting to improve and starting to get better,” Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire, reflecting on the squad’s fitness picture.
“It would be nice to have some more senior players to try and change a game late on as opposed to hoping a young boy comes on and does something quite special.”
That last line cut to the heart of Blackburn’s recent struggles. The manager has leaned heavily on youth, energy and potential. What he has lacked is proven, battle-hardened options to turn tight games.
Ito deal stalls
One such option was supposed to be Ryotaro Ito.
Blackburn had pushed hard to bring in the Japan midfielder, who spent last season in Belgium. The 28-year-old was even at the club on Monday, with a deal seemingly close.
Then the trail went cold.
“I’m not really sure what’s happened,” Mowbray admitted. “At this moment there’s nothing happening.
“I genuinely don’t know but, my experience would suggest to me that it’s not going to happen now.
“I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I asked for help a few weeks ago and the club are trying to put some players in the building to help us.”
The collapse of the Ito move leaves Rovers still hunting for extra creativity and control in midfield, at a time when results are beginning to bite.
Pressure building before Millwall test
Blackburn have taken just one point from their last four matches. The table makes for uncomfortable reading: they sit four points and 10 places behind eighth-placed Millwall, who arrive in Lancashire with the early-season momentum Rovers crave.
Mowbray is adamant performances have not matched the meagre return.
“We know we need to find a result, we can’t keep thinking the team is playing quite well but we’re getting beat again or drawing again,” he said.
“I think we are better than the results have suggested the last couple of games and deserved more from them, but the reality is you have to win matches and get points.”
That is the line now. No more caveats about displays, no more talk of promise without payoff.
With injured forwards trickling back and transfer targets slipping away, Millwall’s visit offers something simple and stark: a chance to turn performances into points, or risk watching the season start to drift before it has really begun.
