The time is now for Amari’i Bell and Tosin Adarabioyo, according to Tony Mowbray, with the pair the most likely to profit from Rovers’ defensive injuries.

Bell replaced Cunningham in the first half of the defeat to QPR, with the on-loan Cardiff defender set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Manchester City loanee Adarabioyo was brought on when Lenihan limped off at Loftus Road, with the Republic of Ireland international ruled out for up to eight weeks.

Full back Bell has started three times this season, and Adarabioyo twice, with the 21-year-old having struggled for fitness since arriving at Ewood Park.

Rovers host Huddersfield Town tomorrow lunchtime looking to respond to the QPR defeat and on their return to action after the international break.

And despite the blow of losing Cunningham for the season, Mowbray said: “Amari’i has to step up and show he is a player that can get the job done for us.

“Greg came in to the team and brought a different level of control with the ball and picking the right passes.

“Amari’i’s strength lie in other areas, he’s good one-v-one and if he can face up full backs and get beyond them that’s what he has to do.

“Defensively he has to be more aggressive than he’s shown, but they are all things that we’ve spoken about. His opportunity is here and hopefully he’s going to do well.”

Injuries have restricted Adarabioyo to just two starts so far, the last of which came against Millwall on September 14.

He was primed to start at Reading last month, before injury hit on the eve of the game, but Mowbray has confidence in his loan signing.

He added: “Adarabioyo, without his injuries, should and would have been playing in our team. Now he has an opportunity that spot in the team. He has to be robust, strong, stay fit and show everyone what a good player he is.

“We saw glimpses of that against Fulham in the opening away game, he’s very talented, fast, brilliant vision to pick passes, so if he can put his game together then he’ll be a big talent.

“This is the opportunity to show people what a good player he is.

“As he told me, if he’s going to play for Manchester City’s first team then he has to be one of the best four or five centre halves in the world.

“There’s his challenge, let’s see how good he is.

“We had Joleon Lescott in (on Thursday) who is Tosin’s independent loan manager at Manchester City. He watches training, sits and talks to me, to Tosin, watch all the clips and what he might need to improve.

“Tosin has to now go and show us. If he has ambitions to play for Manchester City in the Champions League and Premier League then he has start to somewhere and that’s for us now.”