Harry Leonard is feeling “sharper by the day” and hopes he can keep finding the back of the net as he steps up his recovery.

The young forward has not featured for the first team since January and had a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to bad injury luck.

Leonard has now scored five goals in his last three matches for the Under-21 side, including a hat trick against Arsenal on Monday night.

“It was really valuable,” he told Rovers TV. “Obviously, minutes are the main aim at the minute and to top it off with a few goals is really good for my confidence. To get through another 90 minutes, I feel good.

“I am (feeling sharper) each game, step by step. It was tough, they were a good side.

“I felt really sharp in the Monchengladbach game and in spells tonight, especially the opening goal. It is just that match sharpness, you can’t replicate it in training.

“It is about gaining confidence in your body and knowing you can cope. I have got over the injuries know, that is in the back of my mind.

“But I need to get my body to adapt to playing week, in week out and obviously the step up to men’s football, there are even more physical demands. I am just making my body adapt and feeling good for it.”

Leonard scored four goals for the senior team last season before injury struck, with three of those coming in the Championship.

“There is no better feeling,” he continued. “I have been doing it since I was a young lad and I love the feeling, whether it is at 21s level or in the first team.

“It is just a habit that you have to try to get yourself into. I think that first goal really took a bit of weight off my shoulders.

“Being a striker and a first team player playing 21s, there is a bit of pressure on you to produce those goals and in the last few games I have done that. It is a good confidence boost and as a striker, that is what you want to do.”

The 21-year-old is hungry to get back into the first-team picture at Ewood Park and show John Eustace what he can do.

However, Leonard knows he must be patient as his body adapts to the physical demands of playing regular games again.

“I think you have to be patient, the position I am in especially,” he reflected. “I have had a lot of time on the sidelines and would never have expected to be thrown in at the deep end.

“I have got to play these games and get my sharpness up. I have got to be patient but obviously I want to be playing, every footballer wants to be playing.

“I am still young, I have got a lot of time. There are still 30-odd games to play and I wouldn’t want to rush things.

“I have been out for so long and my body is still adapting. Patience is key with the position I am in at the minute.”