A familiar face was back at Rovers earlier this week in Paul Downing - but Tony Mowbray has no regrets over allowing the 27-year-old to leave on loan.

The Rovers boss said it was ‘a human decision’ to let Downing join League One side Doncaster until the end of the season having played just four times for the club this term.

Downing has impressed in his early days with Grant McCann’s side, remaining unbeaten in his four league matches to date. His departure coincided with Rovers losing Darragh Lenihan to a knee injury which is set to sideline him for up to eight weeks, while Derrick Williams is now suspended for two matches.

Loan players cannot be recalled outside of transfer windows and given that he is out of contract at Ewood Park in the summer, Downing could well have played his last game for Rovers.

That doesn’t take away from his contribution last season, playing 30 times as Mowbray’s men won promotion from League One having arrived, initially on loan, from MK Dons.

If the selection problems worsen in central defence, then Mowbray says he has every faith in the club’s young defenders to step up.

“That was a human decision. Paul Downing could easily have sat around this building when coming in every day and what I would say, is that the guy he is, he’d have done that without complaint,” Mowbray said.

“Yet he knocked on my office door and said he wanted to play. He felt he was fifth centre half and at times wasn’t even making the travelling squad or the bench.

“Hindsight is a good thing, but two centre halves down the line being out, we shouldn’t be asking the question of Paul Downing, who’s obviously doing well for himself at Doncaster and I’m delighted for him.

“He was in the building (on Wednesday), he’s one of our players still so is more than welcome to come back anytime and it is good to see him when he does.

“If it gets to the stage where we pick up another injury to a centre half, as we have had already this season when we played Newcastle in the cup, we had four centre halves unavailable, I like some of the young centre halves at the club.

“I think Tyler Magloire and Charley Doyle are talented footballers with good careers ahead of them. If we get to that stage then we will throw them in.”