BLACKBURN Rovers' medical staff today backed Stig Bjornebye to make a full recovery from the horrific eye injury which has prematurely ended his season.

The Norwegian international defender had an operation this week to repair the fractured eye-socket he suffered in an accidental training collision.

And, though club doctor Phil Batty has since described the injury as one of the worst he has ever seen, he is confident the 32-year-old will return to action without any lasting side-affects next season.

"It was a bad injury but we are very pleased with the way the operation went," said Batty.

"Technically, it went very well and now it's a case of waiting for the swelling to go down and then for him to recover the fine co-ordination which is necessary for eye movement.

"Reported figures state that 98 per cent of people make a full recovery from this type of injury.

"So we are hoping to see Stig back in training again at some point next season."

Bjornebye suffered the injury on the eve of Rovers' game with Newcastle when he got sandwiched in a challenge with Craig Short and Alan Mahon.

As he put his arm up to protect himself, his hand got forced back into his face and the impact of the blow caused a hole in the floor of his eye-socket.

Such was the extent of the damage that he had to wait a week before the swelling went down and the surgeons could operate.

But Batty has stressed there was never any danger of Bjornebye losing the sight in one eye as a result of the collision.

"In terms of the operation, that's a very rare complication which can happen and in terms of the accident itself, I don't think there was ever any danger of him losing his sight," said Batty.

"The main problem is double vision. The injury was thought to have occurred by the eye-ball moving backwards and with the bone being so thin, it broke the bottom of the eye socket.

"Therefore, the perioribtal fat and the muscles seep down through the hole in the floor which causes double vision and means the eye is not in the right position to send a current message to the brain."

The delicate operation took around an hour to perform and involved inserting a plastic sheet into Bjornebye's face.

"Effectively, you've got to repair the hole that's in the floor so you need to identify where it is and then cover it," explained Batty. "There are a number of materials you can use but in Stig's case he had a plastic sheet inserted."

Now Bjornebye must wait for the eye to heal naturally although a series of eye-exercises will speed up his recovery.

But even if everything goes to plan it could be Christmas before he's fit to return to the first team again.

"It's impossible to say how long it's going to take because everyone repairs differently and it's not like a leg where we know it will strengthen up," added Batty.

"It's about the co-ordination of an eye-ball movement so it could be months before he's ready.

"But I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff in the Maxillo-Facial Unit and the Radiology department at Blackburn Royal Infirmary for all their help.

"Stig didn't actually have his operation there in the end but they were excellent with us."