BILLY McKinlay faces surgery to cure his groin injury problems as Blackburn Rovers boss Brian Kidd's midfield crisis takes another turn for the worse.

And this latest injury blow simply underlines the urgent need for Rovers to recruit another influential midfield player in their battle to beat the continuing threat of relegation.

They have been scouring the transfer market for re-inforcements, with West Ham's Steve Lomas one of the men on their hit list.

But there has not been any formal bid for Lomas, who has made it clear he is not unsettled at Upton Park.

Ironically, Rovers are due to visit West Ham on Saturday but, unless there is a dramatic change in the situation, it seems they will have to look elsewhere.

McKinlay has battled through the pain barrier for some time, the injury severely restricting his training. It has been a case of patching him up from week to week.

With Tim Sherwood now gone to Spurs and Garry Flitcroft out for the rest of the season, the Scot has had to carry on playing as long as possible.

But it seems that the injury has finally beaten him.

"I think he is going to need an operation," admitted Kidd.

"We will know more during the week but we think that will be the outcome."

The manager is well aware of the urgent need to strengthen midfield and is desperately trying to bolster his depleted resources.

"That's the engine room, it's where you need the drive," he said.

"Young David Dunn has been terrific, he's given everything but he's only a young kid."

And he will lose another midfielder, Jason McAteer, for Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Newcastle.

The ex-Liverpool man and striker Matt Jansen are both cup-tied. Meanwhile, Rovers have stepped up their efforts to try to get Damien Duff released from going to Nigeria with the Republic of Ireland for the world under-20 championships in April.

They have written to the Football Association, asking them to take up Duff's case with FIFA. We feel that is the proper way to do things," said chief executive John Williams. "There are a number of areas which concern us as well as the fact that Damien has been picked across a number of different age groups."

Rovers say that, as a senior international, as well as an established first-team player at Ewood, Duff should not be involved in what is a youth tournament.

Other clubs, set to lose important players for several games because of the tournament, have also been involved in protests.

Leeds have gone a step further and officially made all their players - English as well as Irish - unavailable for the championships.

They say that it has now gone beyond a football matter with fears over issues such as general health and security in Nigeria.

And, even if FIFA decide that such action means the players should not be eligible to play for Leeds during the course of the championships, the Elland Road club intend sticking to their guns.

Chairman Peter Risdale said: "We have a responsibility to our players concerning their health and welfare. We are not satisfied we have the necessary re-assurances about their health, safety and security." There are continuing suggestions that the tournament, due to be held in April, could yet be called off because of security problems and potential health risks in Nigeria. While they await a reply on Duff, Rovers could have a costly injury legacy from Saturday's home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, with Stephane Henchoz a major doubt for the FA Cup replay against Newcastle.

Henchoz defied his thigh injury to play on Saturday but picked up two more problems.

"I twisted my knee in a clash with Andy Booth and I have stitches in my left calf, so it really was one of those days," he said.

Rovers under-19s, defeated only once in their last 10 games, beat Manchester City 2-1 at Brockhall with a couple of goals from Gary Hamilton. It was a more comfortable win than the scoreline suggests.

Despite the difficult conditions, the under-17s also had an excellent game against City, Steve Foster scoring twice in a 2-2 draw.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.