Tosin Adarabioyo will remain at Rovers for the remainder of the season, Tony Mowbray has confirmed.

Manchester City had the option of recalling the 22-year-old this month, but the central defender is expected to see out his loan spell at Ewood Park.

Adarabioyo has impressed in his 16 appearances for Rovers this season, despite injury struggles in his early days at the club, and become a key figure in the back four.

Mowbray was critical of the young defender’s role in the New Year’s Day defeat at Nottingham Forest, but says he will remain a Rovers player until May.

He said: “I have had contact suggesting that they don’t want him back and he can stay with us.

“As far as I know they’re the conversations we’d had. As of last week, pretty solid that he will be staying.”

Two goals from Lewis Grabban ensured it would be a disappointing festive period for Rovers who took just two points from the 12 on offer following draws with Wigan and Birmingham and a defeat to Huddersfield prior to the City Ground trip.

Joe Lolley put the hosts 1-0 up, before Grabban doubled the advantage from the penalty spot after a rash decision from goalkeeper Christian Walton.

Rovers were dominating the early stages of the second half, after Stewart Downing reduced the arrears in the first, before Grabban restored the two-goal lead in the 55th minute.

A Joe Worrall own goal offered Rovers hope late on, but Mowbray said: “Defensively we weren’t strong enough. That’s not something I can throw at them for the last six weeks too much.

“They were really, really soft goals to lose. I thought we controlled the game for long spells but the result is the result.

“You come away to Forest and score two goals and you would expect if not win the game, as we’ve done the last twice here, not lose it.

“It was a frustrating day. I can reel off the excuses but let’s get on with it and get ready for the next one.”

Injuries have Rovers hard in a busy schedule, with the Forest defeat their fourth match in the space of nine days with an FA Cup trip to Birmingham City to come on Saturday.

But sitting four points off the play-offs even after a sticky run of form offers hope to the boss whose side aren’t in league action again until January 11.

Grabban’s second, heading home a Sammy Ameobi cross, came after Joe Rothwell gave the ball away in midfield, and the boss added: “It was a really soft goal out of nowhere. It was one sloppy pass, one cross to a man unmarked in the box. We will break it down.

“I think we can go away with some positives. We came here and controlled much of the game and possibly deserved more from it but didn’t get it. That’s football.

“We have some big players missing, the balance of the team isn’t right, a few players under the weather.

“You have to get on with it and this is where we are. It feels like a thick schedule but we’ll back to Saturday-Saturday pretty quickly.

“Is it a disadvantage that we had two days less to prepare than anyone else? I understand, it’s television, you have to do it. If it wasn’t us it would be someone else.

“I think it’s probably had a knock-on effect. On the back of the injuries it feels as though the games are coming round really fast and a game less than every three games.

“Five games in 13 days, it’s tough and I felt before the game they were a bit flat. All we seem to be doing is sat in video analysis rooms looking at the next opposition and it’s hard to fit the work in that you need to do.

“What you do in three or four days you have to do in one-and-a-half on the next team. I’m not sitting here moaning, not result wise, but there were positives and we’re still only four points off the play-offs with everything to look forward to.”