Jon Dahl Tomasson has confirmed that captain Lewis Travis will start for Blackburn Rovers at Chelsea after recovering from injury.

The skipper has missed Rovers' last two Championship matches after hurting his calf against Cardiff City. However, he has made good progress and will be in the team at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Tomasson will rest some players, with Sam Szmodics not travelling down to the Capital. His options are limited though with injuries and suspensions to consider in the middle of a busy schedule.

Semir Telalovic will not be involved either after playing 90 minutes for the Under-21s against Reading on Monday night, leaving Harry Leonard and Niall Ennis competing for a place up front. Ryan Hedges, Sam Gallagher, Aynsley Pears and Sam Barnes are the other players on the long-term injury list.

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"Trav is back, he’ll be starting as well. I am very pleased to have him back and he's in a good mood. He's looking forward to the game and starting.
"Szmodics will not be involved. It's disappointing but he's played a lot of games, he's our top scorer, but hopefully, he will be ready for the weekend.

"Dom Hyam misses out of course, Gallagher, Hedges, Pears, Barnes are all still out. Semir Telalovic played for the under-21s last night to get minutes in his legs, so he will not be playing as well. Hopefully, Sammie will be ok but let's wait and see."

Hayden Carter's suspension in the Championship means he is likely to start at Stamford Bridge alongside Scott Wharton in defence. James Hill could be rested as he'll be needed at centre-back on Sunday, with Callum Brittain or Joe Rankin-Costello likely to drop in at right-back.

Tomasson has played at Stamford Bridge as a player and was in charge of Malmo when they reached the knockout stages of the Champions League in 2021. That ended in a 4-0 defeat for the Swedish club.

Despite their struggles in the Premier League, Chelsea boast a squad packed full of experience and international quality. Tomasson thinks they've been a better side than their points tally would suggest this season.

"We lost 4-0 at that time, it wasn't a great experience," Tomasson said. "Losing 4-0 but they were better and they scored early. 

"We weren't in the game, at Malmo we lost 1-0 and it could've been a draw. Those are the moments when you play in the highest moments, that was Champions League.

"Now it's a good opportunity for us to climb further. It's been a while since Rovers have been past round three two years in a row, that's a great achievement. The cup games can bring some magic.

"We are a young team at Rovers, I know they (fans) will back the team but I am focused on giving them something back. They want something back, they are travelling on a Wednesday night.

"If you ask the fans and some of my players, they think of the cup moments as some of the best in the season. Football is a complex game, they lost to Brentford at the weekend but they could've easily won it. The Premier League is the best league in the world, there are a lot of good teams. 

"Chelsea are a quality side, it's top-class quality. Compared to West Ham and Leicester, this is even better."