Star striker Jordan Rhodes is moving closer to returning to first-team action for Blackburn Rovers.

Ewood Park boss Gary Bowyer admits it has taken slightly longer than expected to get the forward back after he sustained an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with former club Huddersfield on August 15.

Bowyer’s side failed to win any of their opening four Championship games and were also knocked out of the Capital One Cup at home to Shrewsbury Town.

“The lad is desperate to get back and is working ever so hard,” Bowyer told reporters.

“It has taken a little bit longer than what we had hoped, but at the same time it could have been a lot worse as he could have been out for months such was the challenge.”

Rhodes has scored 73 league goals in three seasons for Rovers since he joined from Huddersfield and his manager is understandably keen to have him back.

With Blackburn creating plenty scoring chances in both the draw at home to Cardiff and the away defeat at Brighton, Bowyer knows his star striker will be eager to get back in the firing line.

He said: “To have had him on the end of those chances we created, I know he’d be backing himself to have scored quite a few of them.

“He is prolific and it makes a massive difference to our team, I think that has been the motivation to get fit, the number of chances that we have been creating – he could quite easily have got six goals.”

Blackburn are 5.50 to be relegated from the Championship this season while they are 17.00 to earn promotion to the Premier League.