BRETT Emerton fears he could be out of action for at least a couple of weeks after he became the latest victim of Blackburn Rovers' injury curse.

The Australian international joined Mark Hughes' list of walking wounded when he damaged his hamstring in Tuesday night's last-gasp defeat at Charlton Athletic.

The 27-year-old must now undergo a scan to determine the full extent of the damage, but after a similar problem sidelined him for three weeks earlier in the season, Emerton fears he could miss a significant part of Rovers' Christmas programme.

"It's the same one that I did before, but in a slightly different position," said the Aussie.

"We won't know how bad it is until I have a scan, but you need to give it a couple of days to settle down before you can do that.

"In my own mind, I think it's going to be at least a couple of weeks. Hopefully it's no more serious than that.

"We've got a few weeks until the really busy period starts so I'm hoping I'll be back for Christmas time and the New Year."

With Steven Reid, Ryan Nelsen and Jason Roberts already ruled out of the festive programme, Hughes can hardly afford to lose another key man in Emerton, who has been one of Rovers' most consistent performers so far this term.

The Rovers boss feels a hectic schedule, stemming back to the World Cup finals in the summer, has finally caught up with his all-action Aussie, who has now suffered two tendon injuries in the space of two months.

"We've lost Brett again to a hamstring. I think that's a consequence of the summer he's had with his World Cup involvement," said Hughes.

"It looks as if it's the same injury he suffered earlier in the season, but hopefully it's not too severe and we can get him back in a couple of weeks."

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