BLACKBURN Rovers boss Paul Lambert is looking to sign a centre-back before Saturday’s home match against Brighton & Hove Albion after Shane Duffy was sidelined.

Duffy came off 13 minutes from the end of normal time in Tuesday night’s 1-1 home draw with QPR with a groin injury.

Rovers are still waiting on scan results to determine how long the Republic of Ireland international, who was previously the only player in their squad to play every minute of the Championship season, is out for.

But he will certainly miss the visit of Brighton to Ewood Park and, with Matt Kilgallon struggling to shake off a hip injury, Lambert currently has one fit and available senior centre-back to choose from in the form of captain Grant Hanley.

He would have no hesitation in playing versatile midfielder Darragh Lenihan alongside Hanley in the clash with the Seagulls if needs be.

But Lambert has confirmed he is looking to bring in another centre-back on loan before then.

He said: “I’ll try and get somebody in. I’ve made a couple of calls already to see if anyone’s available.

“I know the way that Shane and Grant play, they’re aggressive and they can go into things and they get yellow cards. You run that risk the way they play the game.

“But it was still one that was unexpected for us. The two of them have been brilliant together.”

Asked if one of the centre-backs he was considering was West Ham United’s Doneil Henry, who was on loan at Rovers until January 3, Lambert said: “There’s a few there that I’ve made calls about. I’m just waiting on what ones are there.”

Asked about Duffy’s condition, Lambert said: “He’s in alright spirits. We’re still waiting on the results of the scan. We can’t really comment on how severe it is or how good it is.

“With a bit of luck, he won’t be out for too long. It’s a blow because he’s playing ever so well.”

Asked about the fitness of Kilgallon, Lambert said: “He’s the one we’re hoping is going to be okay. If he comes through the next couple of days then we’ll see.

“Matty’s problem wasn’t running or jogging it was actually striking the ball. I’ll find out after here and see how he gets on.”

Lambert, who has midfielder Danny Guthrie back in training after a hamstring injury, added: “The centre-half area becomes really important now with Duffy being out.

“I always think anyway you’ve got to have four centre-halves at your football club – and at the moment we’ve only got three and two of them are injured.

“It leaves you with one centre-back and it becomes a big, big area for us.

“What I don’t want to do is go with somebody really young, inexperienced that doesn’t know the league. Then you’ve also got the problem of what teams are going to let experienced ones come out.”