STUART Ripley joined Damien Duff in the treatment room after Blackburn Rovers' confidence-boosting victory over Arsenal at Highbury.

And Ewood boss Roy Hodgson will be hoping his luck is not going to turn sour and that he doesn't have his wings clipped for Saturday's home game against West Ham.

Ripley suffered a kick to the lower leg and ankle and was substituted during the second half against Arsenal for Garry Flitcroft. He needed ice pack treatment immediately after the game, but it is not thought the injury is anything particularly serious.

If Ripley and Duff, who was out of contention for Highbury with a dead leg, are both available it will strengthen Hodgson's hand for a game that could set up Rovers perfectly for the Christmas fixtures when two matches in three days could have an effect on the top of the Premiership table.

But Hodgson refuses to talk about the possibilities of overhauling leaders Manchester United, who restored their four-point advantage with a victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford last night.

"For us to be as high as we are after 18 games is fantastic," said Hodgson.

"We have got to be very happy with that but we mustn't start getting carried away. "Certainly I'm not going to be talking to my players at this stage about catching Manchester United. We're still talking about getting enough points to make sure we are in the top five at the end of the season.

"Because we want to try to get back into Europe.

"If we continue to play and get the results we have been getting, then maybe with three or four matches to go, I might be able to answer the question.

"But at the moment what interests me is UEFA and what pleases me most is the six points difference between ourselves and Arsenal, because there is no doubt for me that Arsenal will be a team in a UEFA spot at the end of the season.

"So six points at the moment is a very comfortable margin."

With Jason Wilcox in scoring form - he has netted in the last two matches - Rovers don't have a problem on the left-hand side.

But Ripley is the prime choice for the right flank and, with Chris Sutton missing this weekend through a one-match ban, they don't have the option of switching Kevin Gallacher to cover for him.

Hodgson, however, has rotated his midfield players to good effect this season and he has even used four central midfielders strung across the park, as well as operating with just one wide man on occasions. Apart from Ripley and Duff, Martin Dahlin and Lars Bohinen have both been in the treatment room with calf muscle injuries.

It is now two months since Dahlin started a first team game - he played at Chelsea in the Coca-Cola Cup tie - because of back and calf problems.

Having been out for so long, it seems rerasonable to assume that the Swedish striker would need a game or two before being ready to challenge for a senior place again.

That puts even more stress on Sutton and Gallacher and adds extra urgency to the manager's search for striking re-inforcements.

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