MATT Jansen has been handed the chance by former club Blackburn Rovers to rebuild his injury-torn career - almost three years since playing his last competitive game.

The ex-Rovers favourite has resumed training at Ewood Park in a bid to have one last shot at extending a once-promising career that looked doomed to failure after a near-fatal motorbike crash in 2002.

Jansen was regarded as one of football’s bright young stars at the turn of this century when his sparkling Rovers form earned him an England call-up.

A stomach injury cost him his place at the 2002 World Cup, and that summer a crash in Italy saw him spend four days in a coma with serious head injuries, something he has never fully recovered from.

The former Carlisle and Crystal Palace man toiled away in the seasons after in the hope of redisovering his former glories but, after failed spells at Rovers, Coventry and Bolton, Jansen’s career looked over back in 2006.

Now back in training in Lancashire, the 31-year-old is making a final attempt to see if he has a future in the game, with his former Rovers employers more than happy to offer a helping hand.

Jansen has returned to Rovers on an informal basis in a “relaxed arrangement” with the club, but in an ideal scenario, the striker can refind the form that would make him a valuable asset to Paul Ince’s squad.

Rovers chairman John Williams though insisted there have been deadlines set, no deals agreed or no pressure put on the player, claiming Jansen’s return is a very casual thing aimed at helping a former Rovers favourite.

Williams said: “Matt is training at the club but it is a very casual arrangement. He wants to see if he is capable of making another go it and we are delighted to help him.”

Jansen started his career at Carlisle back in 1995, before signing for Crystal Palace three years later for £1million.

A starring role at Selhurst Park earned him his Premier League chance, in a £4.1m switch to Rovers at the start of 1999, and he made an immediate impact with a debut goal against Spurs.

Jansen cemented his place in Rovers’ fans hearts with some memorable performances to help them back into the top-flight in 2000/2001, finishing as the league’s second top scorer.

He continued in a similar vein the following season, scoring the opener in Rovers’ 2-1 League Cup final win over Tottenham, and earned his first international call-up for a clash with Paraguay in April 2002.

Injury ended his England dreams and, following his horrific motorcyle smash in the summer of 2002, Jansen’s career started to go backwards.

After visiting a sports psychologist in America to aid his recovery, Jansen signed a two-year pay as you play deal at Rovers in May 2005 but just a few months later he was released from his contract.

After a short spell at Bolton that included his last competitive game, a 1-0 defeat at Anfield in April 2006, Jansen’s career looked over after a failed trial in America with the New York Red Bulls.

Jansen has since been developing various business interests but, having never ruled out a return to the game, will be desperate to grab his ‘last chance’ with both hands.