Niall Ennis has opened up on his injury-hit start to life at Blackburn Rovers but is ready to help the team after returning to full fitness.

The striker arrived on a free transfer from Plymouth Argyle but is yet to start a Championship match due to fitness problems. Ennis came into the club with a niggling groin injury which restricted his involvement in pre-season.

He came back just in time for the Championships season to start and scored in the Carabao Cup against Walsall. Lively substitute appearances against Rotherham United and Hull City had fans excited, only for him to sustain a knee injury against the Tigers.

That has kept him out for another sustained period, punctuating any momentum he had built. Ennis admitted it's been a frustrating time in the physio room but there is now light at the end of the tunnel.

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"The backroom staff have helped me settle in a lot," he told BBC Radio Lancashire. "The main goal was to be on the pitch so it's been a lot of hard work.

"I've not had as many days off, trying to work hard, recovery and strengthen areas I need to strengthen. I want to get myself in the best possible shape to help the team in the league get into the positions we want.

"It was frustrating because I felt like I was on the brink of getting my full fitness and my sharpness to get a start. I felt I was doing well the more minutes I was getting and I was being effective.

"It's a long season so hopefully I am over that side of it. Now I'm focusing on getting my sharpness again and helping the team, getting some goals."

That knee injury kept him out for almost two months, with Rovers easing him back into match action slowly. Despite one training session, he travelled with the team to Coventry City and got 15 minutes off the bench against Queens Park Rangers.

Now, he's raring to get going again after getting another hour in the tank for the Under-21s on Wednesday. Ennis scored both goals in a 5-2 defeat against Accrington Stanley and he feels ready to be called upon by Tomasson.

"It's frustrating, you have down days but you have to be positive," he said. "There are real problems going on in the world and that puts life into perspective. There is a lot of worse going on, it's part and parcel of the game.

"It's about trying to stay positive and the staff have helped me a lot. There have been some days where I have been annoying them because I want to be out there but they're keeping me level-headed.

"It's nice to be back on the grass now. We have a lot of games coming up, players are coming back from injury so the gaffer knows he has to use every one.

"I'm making sure I am recovering well and that I am available, we'll all be needed. 

"I'm a fan of the team as well so you know how it is when players aren't on the pitch. It's about putting in the work, not everyone sees the stuff I am doing behind closed doors.

"It's about doing the work when nobody is seeing it and then showing what I can do at Ewood. Playing my part for the team.

"I feel like I am getting there. I got 60 minutes so I feel good, I got the goals as well so that helps my confidence. If the gaffer needs me, I feel like I am ready and I want to be there."

Such was Rovers' need for firepower, with Harry Leonard out injured too, Ennis travelled to Coventry on the back of one training session. Though he didn't get on at the Building Society Arena, Ennis was boosted by being part of the group again.

He came on in ideal circumstances with the team 4-0 at QPR and although there wasn't a sight of goal, that taste of first-team action has ignited a hunger. Ennis is hoping that victory will kickstart a positive run of form, starting against Cardiff City.

"I was surprised but we were a bit light up front," Ennis said. I trained for one session but I didn't feel like I was that far apart, fitness-wise. It was nice to be on the bench and be available, I came on the next game. I was happy to be back amongst it. 

"I wanted a chance to get a goal (at QPR) but the result was the main thing. We had lost the last four games so it was nice to get that win before the international break.

"We want to start a run now. We have been creating the chances as a team but we haven't had the luck of the bounces. That game, the chances we created is what we've been doing in a lot of matches.

"We took the chances. We have the quality to do that, we just have to do it. We have good players and we need to show it."