BLACKBURN Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen has admitted he let his team-mates down as he battled against a niggling hamstring injury.

But, after coming through an hour for the reserves earlier this week, the big Kiwi has revealed he is close to returning to his very best.

Nelsen has been out for two months since the draw with Middlesbrough back in January when he finally had to admit defeat in his injury struggle.

It came after a rare spell of inconsistency for the former DC United defender, and he admitted he should have taken a rest much earlier than he did.

However, he said it was his desire to do well for the club that ultimately proved his downfall.

"I kept wanting to play and I didn't do myself or the injury justice," he said.

"It was stupid on my part because every time I was asked to play I wanted to play and I said yes' and I probably shouldn't have.

"Hindsight is a good thing, but obviously my per-formances weren't good enough by my standards and in the end it got too bad.

"It was extremely hard, but the pain got to the stage where I couldn't even jog or do anything.

"I was letting my team down and myself down because I set pretty high standards."

Nelsen has been plagued by the injury since it flared up during the UEFA Cup defeat to Larissa in Greece in September.

In his absence, manager Mark Hughes has used a variation of Zurab Khizanishvili, Andre Ooijer and Chris Samba in the heart of the Rovers defence.

But, after his enforced spell on the sidelines, Nelsen revealed he was feeling stronger than ever and was looking forward to playing a part in the club's push for Europe.

He added: "I had to take time out, which is one of the most painful things to do, but in the long run it'll be worth it.

"I've been wanting to train for a while and I've had to hold myself back to make sure that I'm strong enough to come back "I feel that I've got my pace back and my sharpness.

"I just have to work on my match fitness now. I've got my explosiveness and my power back and I feel pretty good."