HAKAN Sukur will step up his comeback plans at the Reebok Stadium tonight following news that Egil Ostenstad could be ruled out for up to six weeks.

Sukur and his Turkish international colleague, Tugay, are both set to play for a Rest of the World XI against Kanu's African XI in a special fundraiser for the Arsenal striker's heart foundation charity.

And Rovers boss Graeme Souness hopes the former Inter Milan star can use the game as an opportunity to work on his match fitness after seeing his striking resources depleted by a fresh setback at the weekend.

With Matt Jansen already out on loan at Coventry and Dwight Yorke currently side-lined by hamstring trouble, Ostenstad became the latest player to join the casualty list when a scan showed he had suffered medial knee ligament damage as a result of a late challenge against Manchester City on Saturday.

Souness is therefore eager to get Sukur fit as quickly as possible with current champions Arsenal next up at Ewood on Saturday week.

The Turk made his long-awaited debut as a first-half substitute against City at the weekend after recovering from a broken leg and a double hernia operation.

And Souness has cleared the way for the striker to play in tonight's game in an attempt to help him get sharp following his two-month injury lay-off.

"Originally, the idea was for Hakan to play an hour or 45 minutes against Manchester United Reserves at Altrincham last Thursday but he had an ankle injury the week before and missed a couple of days of training, so he said it didn't feel quite right," explained Souness.

"I took that to mean he wouldn't be right for Saturday either, which was always the target game for him, but then when I put the squad up on Friday he was disappointed not to be in it.

"So I included him in it and I think our fans saw on Saturday what type of player he is.

"His movement is excellent and once he catches up to speed with the rest of them and they understand what type of player he is then he's going to be a real asset for us."

As well as Sukur and Tugay, several other top Premiership stars will be on parade tonight in the special charity game at the home of Bolton Wanderers.

Arsenal stars Patrick Vieira, Gilberto, Edu and Sylvain Wiltord have all confirmed their attendance for the Rest of the World XI and they are likely to be joined by Wanderers duo Youri Djorkaeff and Ricardo Gardner, plus Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert.

Meanwhile, Ostenstad is putting a brave face on his own injury set-back.

The Norwegian international was given a rare chance to start against City but his afternoon then came to a premature end when he was scythed down by a crunching challenge in the 42nd minute.

"It looks like there's a little tear on the medial ligament or something but hopefully it's not too bad," said Ostenstad, after undergoing a scan yesterday.

"The medical staff knew straight away what it was and they've told me it can take anything from two to six weeks to heal so hopefully it's nearer two.

"I can't really complain, though, because I've been quite lucky with injuries in the past."

Ostenstad is due to undergo a second scan later this week but his injury has prevented him from linking up with the rest of the squad on their short break in Marbella.

"I guess it's treatment and loads of work in the gym for me instead," added the Norwegian.

Rovers' reserves are in action against Everton at Morecambe's Christie Park tonight (kick-off 7pm).