Tony Mowbray says there is better than expected news on Ryan Nyambe’s knee injury.

Nyambe left the pitch on a stretcher in the second half of last weekend’s win over QPR, with Mowbray having feared an up to eight week lay-off for the Namibian.

The 24-year-old has started 28 of Rovers’ 34 Championship matches this season, the QPR victory his 150th Championship appearance for the club.

And while Nyambe will miss this weekend’s trip to Fulham, Mowbray doesn’t expect to be without the right back for long, possibly back before the March international break.

“I think Ryan’s injury is better news than we thought it might have been,” Mowbray said.

“He’s walking with much less pain and discomfort.

“It’s awkward to give you a timescale but it’s not six to eight weeks, it’s hopefully one to two weeks.

“That’s where we think we’re at with Ryan. I would suggest if it is not before the international break it will definitely be after that Ryan will be fit and available.

“I think I said afterwards he’s a lad who’s not a big injury history and had a pain that he’s not felt before it can be a bit of a shock to him.

“He was so unsure what he’d done, yet the scans have shown it’s not too much.”

Joe Rothwell missed the QPR win with a bruised foot sustained in the second half of the defeat at Sheffield United, but has now returned to training.

“He has trained today, joined in the full session and looked good,” Mowbray added.

Ben Brereton is back at Rovers after a visit to Dubai where he began his rehabilitation following an injury to his ankle ligaments.

Rovers’ top scorer has been sidelined since limping out of the 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion on February 14 and while he’s not set to feature before the international break, the club are hopeful the trip to Reading on March 19 will be the last game that he misses.

The Chilean national team are set to send a delegation to Brockhall on Monday to assess Brereton, hoping that he will be available for their crucial World Cup qualifiers against Brazil (March 24) and Uruguay (March 29).

Despite delivering a positive update on Brereton’s progress, Mowbray says the medical team at Rovers don’t expect that to be a possibility.

“It’s positive with Ben, all the signs are pretty good that he’s going to be back pretty soon as well,” Mowbray explained.

“I know there’s a delegation from Chile arriving on Monday to talk to us, they’re pretty desperate for him to be involved in their international games against Brazil and Uruguay.

“Our medical department don’t suggest that’s going to happen but it won’t be too long after that which is why they’re coming, they probably don’t want to see him miss those games and then play the game after the international break.

“He won’t be long after that which is obviously good news for us because he is progressing pretty well.”

Daniel Ayala is still ruled out with a calf issue, while Tayo Edun isn’t expected to feature before the international break due to an ankle ligament injury.