Tony Mowbray hopes Lewis Travis’ powers of recovery will alleviate fears the midfielder could miss the rest of the season.

Travis missed the defeat to Barnsley on Tuesday night, having limped out of last weekend’s defeat to Wigan, and any further absence would be a huge blow to Mowbray who is already without Corry Evans who is sidelined by a broken toe.

Rovers’ unavailability list has grown since the return to action, with Evans, Joe Rankin-Costello (hamstring) and now Travis joining Amari’i Bell and Derrick Williams on the sidelines.

The three-match ban set to be imposed on Ben Brereton will be offset by the return of John Buckley from a similar suspension, while Darragh Lenihan will return after missing the Barnsley defeat to attend the birth of his first child.

But it’s the fitness battle of midfield dynamo Travis, who has started 35 times this season, that will be the biggest concern to the Rovers boss.

“Travis has nicked his medial knee ligament, that’s three or four weeks for most footballers. But Lewis is a special character, special personality and he will be trying everything he can to tell the physios he’ll be okay,” Mowbray said.

“If he doesn’t make it because it’s too sore, it is a damaged ligament so I’m not 100 per cent sure he’ll be with us.

“He’s a miss when he’s not there. Lewis’ attributes are that he brings heart, commitment and soul to our team and that rubs off on a few others.

“When he’s not there it’s qualities that are missing from the ingredients required to win.”