Blackburn Rovers came close to winning all three points at Wolves to start the Championship season. The schedule doesn’t get any easier in gameweek 2, when Tony Mowbray’s side welcomes Middlesbrough to Ewood Park.

The most essential goal for the returning Rovers manager this season would undoubtedly have been to improve the club’s home record.

Blackburn won just four games at Ewood Park last season. Ironically, two of those victories came against Southampton (although under Will Still) and Millwall, the teams that finished third and fourth.

Their first home game of 2026/27 will be extremely difficult, however, as Middlesbrough appear to have found that merciless edge that can help them win games, albeit on a tiny sample size against Lincoln City last weekend.

It’s going to be an interesting battle in East Lancashire, with both trying to keep their unbeaten streak going after three games in all competitions, but these nine players will not be involved.

Scott Wharton

Starting with the hosts, Scott Wharton has been out of action for almost a month due to a thigh injury sustained during the preseason.

Scott Wharton’s Championship appearances each season since joining the Blackburn squad

Season

Appearances

2021/22

30 2022/23 22 2023/24 28 2024/25 0 2025/26

12

The Blackburn academy graduate has missed a lot of time in recent years due to injuries, and he only played 12 Championship games last year, so the latest setback will be extremely distressing.

Lewis Miller

Lewis Miller, an Australian international, is the player on the Ewood Park injury list with the longest return date scheduled.

The 25-year-old injured his Achilles in February, and Tony Mowbray stated before the season start last Friday that he will not be seen until around Christmas.

Moussa Baradji

Moussa Baradji is one of Blackburn’s few new additions this summer, having had his loan deal from Vverdon Sport confirmed permanent following 32 league games.

The 25-year-old will not be seen this season until September, after damaging his hamstring in a friendly against Blackpool.

Dion de Neve

Dion De Neve, a Belgian midfielder, is also anticipated to miss a few weeks with a minor injury.

The 25-year-old struggled to make an impact in his debut season last year, starting only nine of his 27 league matches and being benched on 18 occasions.

Augustus Kargbo

Due to a series of quad and hamstring ailments last season, Augustus Kargbo’s last competitive outing for Blackburn was in late October.

He missed the final three pre-season games and it’s unknown when he’ll return for Tony Mowbray’s team.

Ashley Phillips

In his pre-Blackburn press conference, Kim Hellberg revealed that Aidan Morris will play on Saturday and that David Strelec may potentially return from injury.

He did, however, reveal that new signing and former Blackburn youth player Ashley Phillips will be unavailable this weekend, having done little pre-season work over the summer prior to his £7 million move to the Riverside last week.

Alex Bangura

Alex Bangura’s injury problems have blighted his three years at Teesside. Indeed, he has played only 27 games in three seasons, missing the entire 2024/25 season due to a catastrophic Achilles injury.

Bangura has missed the first two games of the new season, and with defensive reinforcements on the way, it is probable that the 27-year-old will be unable to return to the squad.

Tommy Conway

Tommy Conway missed the entire summer and will be sidelined for another two to four weeks as he heals from an ankle fracture sustained in the play-off semi-final second leg against Southampton last season.

The Scottish international appeared in all 48 league and play-off games for Kim Hellberg last season, becoming one of the Swedes’ main players after joining in mid-November, scoring 13 goals.