BLACKBURN Rovers will be without skipper Grant Hanley for this afternoon’s Championship clash at in-form Ipswich Town.

The centre back, a previous ever present in the league, hurt his knee playing for Scotland last week and, with the Portman Road encounter the first of three in eight days for Gary Bowyer’s side, he has not been risked.

His place in the starting line-up has been taken by Matt Kilgallon.

Jordan Rhodes will captain Rovers in Hanley’s absence.

Top-scorer Rudy Gestede and Corry Evans return from injury and suspension respectively.

They take the place of Josh King, who has failed to recover from the back injury he sustained playing for Norway on Monday, and former Tractor Boys midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe.

Ipswich, who are unbeaten in seven games, have been forced to make three changes.

Captain Luke Chambers, through illness, and top-scorer Daryl Murphy and Luke Hyam, through injury, have been replaced by Tommy Smith, Kevin Bru and Stephen Hunt.

Rovers have fit-again duo Alex Baptiste and David Dunn on the bench.

Ipswich: Gerken, Parr, Smith, Berra, Mings, Skuse, Bru, Hunt, Williams, McGoldrick, Sammon. Subs: Bialkowski, Anderson, Bajner, Tabb, Henshall, Clarke, Ambrose.

Rovers: Steele, Marshall, Duffy, Kilgallon, Olsson, Cairney, Evans, Williamson, Conway, Gestede, Rhodes. Subs: Eastwood, Baptiste, Henley, Tunnicliffe, Taylor, Dunn, Varney.