Michael O’Neill has disclosed that a key Blackburn Rovers player may have sustained a long-term injury during his team’s impressive 3-1 away win against play-off contenders QPR on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancashire club went into the game with a new head coach, and the Northern Irishman made an immediate impression, as his team won all three points at Loftus Road. Rovers’ second win in their last 11 league games has lifted them back out of the bottom three.

However, it came at a cost, as Lewis Miller was substituted just nine minutes after O’Neill introduced the right-back on the pitch. He had replaced Oladapo Afolayan at halftime, but Harry Pickering came on in the 54th minute to take his place.

Blackburn now faces an anxious wait for the results of a scan, and fans will be hopeful that one of their stars’ seasons has not ended prematurely.

Blackburn Rovers manager Michael O’Neill offers an update on Lewis Miller following his injury against QPR.

Miller has appeared in all but three league games for Rovers in 2025/26, and since joining from Scottish side Hibernian in the summer, he has been a crucial player under Valerien Ismael, and it appeared that he would do the same for O’Neill.

However, Blackburn’s new manager has expressed concern about the full-back’s short-term prospects, with an Achilles injury appearing to rule him out for some time. He said (via: rovers.co.uk): “It does look like a serious injury and he’s in a boot, so we can only wish that it’s not as serious as it looks.

“He’s in a lot of pain and had to be stretchered away despite the fact that nobody was there. We hope there is positive news and that the situation is not as catastrophic as expected.Lewis has a major World Cup ahead of him, and with everything going into the melting pot, a severe injury would be extremely difficult to deal with. We can only hope that he receives positive news in the near future, but it is too early to say.

Lewis Miller will be a significant loss for Blackburn Rovers.

If Miller’s injury is significant, his season could be over, and he may not play at all until the end of 2026. As a result, Blackburn must determine the severity of the blow as quickly as possible in order to plan accordingly.

With Australia preparing for this year’s World Cup, the 25-year-old’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, and his ambition of competing in the tournament may have ended before the March internationals were even considered.

However, Blackburn will be very dissatisfied. Miller has been a significant player for the club this season, and with O’Neill’s team in a relegation battle, losing someone as important as the right-back will only be detrimental.

This is a critical moment for Afolayan, and he must stand up in the coming weeks to ensure that his teammate’s loss is not felt too deeply.