DARRAGH Lenihan went away to Burton Albion as a boy but returned to Blackburn Rovers as a man.

And tomorrow he could cap a fantastic week for the club’s Academy by making his full Rovers debut.

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On Monday night Eric Kinder’s and John Filan’s U21s team did the club proud with their performance in the U21s Premier League Cup final decider.

It was a match that Lenihan, a graduate of Rovers’ youth set-up, was eligible to play in.

Instead, for the 12th game running after being called back from his successful loan spell at Burton, he was named as a substitute for the first team’s Championship clash with Millwall the following evening.

But unlike the previous 11 matches, when he remained an unused substitute, Lenihan was thrown into the fray after stand-in skipper Matt Kilgallon came off injured.

And with Kilgallon almost certainly ruled out of tomorrow’s trip to Huddersfield Town, along with three other senior centre-backs, the 21-year-old is in line to follow his first appearance for Rovers with his first start.

And, judging by the composed display he produced on his Ewood Park bow, he will not be daunted by the prospect.

And Lenihan credits the three months he spent with League Two title-challengers Burton for that.

“It’s the best thing I’ve done since I came over here,” said the Republic of Ireland U21s international, who had never made a senior appearance before his move to the Brewers.

“Just to get that experience of being in a first-team environment and playing in front of big crowds. We played in front of 14,000 people at Portsmouth and that’s a massive difference to playing for the U21s.

“People are playing for their mortgages and their children, it just means a lot more.”

It certainly meant a lot to Lenihan to pull on a Rovers senior shirt for the first time.

He arrived at Brockhall in the summer of 2011 from the famous Dublin club Belvedere.

But his first two years at Rovers were blighted by a series of serious injuries.

“It was a great experience coming on in front of the home crowd at Ewood,” said Lenihan, whose first appearance for the club also fell on his mum’s birthday.

“I have waited for this for four years and at last it’s come through and we got a win, which was the main thing, and the clean sheet, which the gaffer has been banging on about.

“I’ve always thought if I kept working hard I’d get my chance eventually and luckily I did.”

Lenihan made 17 appearances for Burton, scoring his first professional goal in their 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, with all of them coming in a deep-lying midfield role.

But having previously played centre-back for Rovers’ and Republic of Ireland U21s sides, he had no problems slipping into the backline.

“If the gaffer puts me anywhere, I’ll play,” said Lenihan, who is line to claim a League Two winners’ medal if the Brewers hold on to top spot.

“I’ll just keep working hard and if he gives me the nod, I’ll give the best I possibly can on the pitch.”