John Eustace has ruled Arnor Sigurdsson out until after the international break and hopes Blackburn Rovers can still see the best of him.

The Icelandic forward has had a very frustrating calendar year, with injuries disrupting any momentum he has managed to build.

He was absent from the squad on Saturday after picking up a thigh strain in training on Friday. That will rule him out of the games against Stoke City and Cardiff City this week.

"Unfortunately, he got injured in training on Friday," Eustace said.

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"It's a thigh injury and he'll be back after the international break. He's had a tough time recently through illness and injury.

"Just as he comes up to speed, he had a bad illness for a couple of weeks and we missed him, I feel.

"Over the last few weeks, he's trained well and as he was set to come back into the team again, he got a slight strain. It's been frustrating all around really."

Rovers fans have not seen the best of Sigurdsson after an exciting couple of months last season. Since then, it feels like he has taken one step forward and two backwards.

With his contract running out next summer, the next few months will be pivotal if that contract is going to be extended.

Eustace hopes that Rovers can get him physically right after the international break and can still get more out of him.

"I was really looking forward to seeing Siggy star for us when I came back in pre-season," he added.

"Last season, he had an injury. It took a while for him to get going in pre-season then. Just as he got going in the Oxford game, he scored a fantastic goal, he was going to come into the team and then he was ill.

"That affected him for three or four weeks, he then comes back and we've seen a few glimpses off the bench. He did well at Plymouth when he came on and then after that, he got injured again.

"It's frustrating but we know there's a good player there. When we can get him fully fit, he can make us better."