BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder David Thompson today said he can finally see an end to his 18-month injury nightmare.

The former Liverpool star has made just 11 Premiership appearances for Rovers since he first suffered a career-threatening knee injury in February last year.

But after months of pain-staking rehabilitation work in the gym at Brockhall, he is now setting his sights on a first team return.

And the 26-year-old has targeted Rovers' pre-season tour of Germany as a date for a possible comeback.

"I'm now ready to join in with the rest of the boys when they come back next week," said Thompson.

"I've been doing my training right through the summer and although I haven't played any football yet that will come in the next two weeks.

"Then if there's no reaction I'll be looking for a game when the pre-season friendlies start.

"I've done all the sprint work, the jogging and the long distance stuff and I haven't had a reaction.

"In fact, to be honest, the knee feels normal now so fingers crossed I'll be ready to come back with everyone else."

Thompson has been through football's equivalent of Hell during the last 18 months.

He first encountered knee trouble in February 2003 which resulted in him having surgery and missing the rest of the season.

His problems then appeared to have been solved when he made a successful comeback during pre-season later that summer.

But unbeknown to the fans, Thompson was still encountering major problems once the season got into full swing and the club's medical staff decided to send him to the world's top knee specialist, Richard Steadman, in America who carried out further surgery last November.

"At the start of last season I kept thinking to myself if I just play on it then it's going to get better," said Thompson.

"But after the Chievo friendly I noticed some swelling on my knee and it never got better.

"I kept playing on because I didn't want to let anyone down but when I was going out there I was letting myself and the team down because I couldn't do a job.

"The Leicester game in November was probably my lowest point. I'd had a terrible game, we'd just lost to a side we thought we should have beaten, and I felt partly responsible for that.

"We had a good chat in the dressing room afterwards because all the lads were disappointed and I just sat there thinking I'm not doing myself justice here -- I'm not being fair to myself or the club.

"The following day I spoke to the physio, Dave Fevre, and we decided to go to America and get it done properly and, touch wood, I can now see an end to my problems."

Meanwhile, Rovers have organised a friendly for the weekend before the new Premiership season starts.

Graeme Souness will take his squad to Dublin on Sunday August 8 for a match against Bray Wanderers in a repeat of last summer's fixture between the two sides.