BLACKBURN Rovers could be close to full-strength for the visit of Arsenal next week after manager Graeme Souness has received a triple boost from the treatment room.

Influential trio Craig Short, Damien Duff and Dwight Yorke are all on course for a return against the Gunners.

And all three could be drafted straight back into Souness's starting line-up despite the fact Rovers are currently on a three-game unbeaten run.

With Egil Ostenstad currently ruled out through injury and Lucas Neill set to start a two-game ban, Souness knows he will have to change a winning team for the visit of the champions.

And the temptation to bring back Duff, in particular, will be difficult to resist as the Republic of Ireland international has been sorely missed during the last seven games.

While the rest of the squad have been sunning themselves in Marbella this week, Duff has stayed behind at Brockhall to work with physio Dave Fevre as he steps up his comeback from a persistent hamstring injury.

The 24-year-old is said to be making excellent progress and if all goes to plan then he could feature in tomorrow night's re-arranged reserve game against Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Short and Yorke are also on target for a return next week following thigh and hamstring injuries respectively.

Both players missed last week's win over Manchester City and Short was at a loss to explain his latest spell of misfortune.

"I was so careful in training last week," said the veteran defender.

"I trained on Monday, then on Tuesday I went in the gym, we had Wednesday off, then when we trained again on Thursday, I just kicked a ball and felt a pain in my standing leg.

"So I've now torn my calf, my hamstring and my thigh this season and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

"It's not a major injury but it interrupts my schedule.

"When I first did it they said I could be missing for a week to 10 days so if that's the case then I've got a chance for the Arsenal game.

"But it is annoying keep getting these injuries in training and I'm now considering just turning up on Saturdays and spending the rest of the week doing a normal job in Harrogate!"

Short, who recently signed a 12-month extension to his contract, was advised to scale-down his training schedule earlier this season in order to reduce the risk of picking up niggling injuries.

Despite his precautions, however, problems have still arisen but he's now hoping he can stay injury-free for the rest of the season.

"When I go out training it does worry me what is going to happen. I even warm up before the warm up," added Short.

"Obviously, I'm at that age where I am going to get more injuries so I've got to pay attention to my stretches, keep doing the extra warm-ups, and try and take it a bit easier so I can play in the next eight or nine games.

"But the problem is while I'm out it gives other people a chance.

"Tiny came back in at the weekend and did very well again so the manager may decide stick with a winning side."