GRAEME Souness was counting the cost of victory over Leeds United after hearing that Vratislav Gresko and Craig Short will miss the rest of the season.

Souness was fuming after a late challenge from Danny Mills resulted in Gresko being stretchered off with a serious foot injury 10 minutes from the end of Rovers' 3-2 win.

X-rays have since revealed the Slovakian international has broken three separate bones in his foot, which means he will be sidelined for at least a month.

And to add insult to injury, Short is also likely to miss the rest of the campaign after damaging a hamstring midway through the second half.

With Henning Berg also out with the same problem, that means Rovers' defensive resources will be stretched to the limit for the last two games of the season.

But Souness was more concerned by the condition of Gresko this morning and he was quick to point an accusing finger in Mills' direction.

"I was pleased with the result but obviously that delight is tempered by the situation we have with Vratislav Gresko," blasted Souness.

"Let's put it this way, it was an injury which we felt could have been avoided.

"I didn't see it originally because I was following the ball but the lads on the bench saw it and I've since seen it again on television.

"And, although it looks quite respectable from one angle, from another it looks very different.

"At the end of the day, people who have seen the incident on television will make up their own minds.

"But the tackle that injured Vratty is something we are not very happy with and I'm disappointed we have an injured player.

"To make matters worse, Dunny also damaged his calf and Craig Short tweaked his hamstring.

"So with Henning Berg already out with a hamstring, it didn't turn out to be a good day from an injury point of view."

Dunn could still have a chance of featuring in the last two games but to lose both Gresko and Short is a bitter blow considering the club are still in with a chance of finishing in the top six.

Leeds, who are bottom of the Premiership's fair play league, adopted an aggressive approach as they looked for the victory they needed to ease their relegation worries.

And Mills' challenge was not the only one on the day which angered Souness as Alan Smith also caught Lucas Neill after the ball had gone.

However, to their great credit, Rovers managed to keep their discipline and goals from Dunn, Andy Cole and Andy Todd proved enough to secure a 3-2 victory -- Rovers' first at Elland Road since the 1959-60 season.

"We played a club who were fighting for their lives and it's never an easy game going there anyway," said Souness.

"But we dug in at the right time and got our goals.

"In the first half I thought we played some good football until the last third where our final ball was missing.

"In the second half we asked for more accuracy in the last third which I don't think we got.

"In fact, I thought we were on the back foot for most of that second half but we were resolute, we defended well, and when the chances came along, we took them."

With two games left, Rovers remain in seventh place, three points behind Everton, who beat Aston Villa at the weekend courtesy of a last-gasp Wayne Rooney goal.

So Souness wants two more victories against West Brom and Tottenham in the hope that the Merseysiders might slip up, thus allowing Rovers to pinch sixth spot and a place in the UEFA Cup.

"Our aim was to finish higher than 10th and get more points than last season and we are still on course to do that," said Souness.

"As for Europe, if it happens, it happens. We've got West Brom at home and Tottenham away and we'll have to win both of those games and hope that Everton lose one.

"So who knows what could happen. Everton have got Manchester United on the last day of the season but they could have won the championship by then so that game won't really matter to them.

"But I'm not even thinking about that right now."

Rovers' reserves are in action against Sunderland in the North East tonight (kick-off 7pm).