Blackburn Rovers defender Jay McEveley is hoping to be back in action before the end of the season.

It was initially feared the England Under 21 international might be sidelined for the rest of the campaign after he tore his medial knee ligament whilst playing for Ipswich.

However, the 20-year-old saw Rovers' consultant orthopaedic surgeon John Hodgkinson at the weekend and his verdict was McEveley could be back in three months.

The young defender, who suffered a similar injury during a previous loan spell with Burnley, said: "It's going to be the same rehab so I've done it all before and I know I can come back from this.

"I went in for a block tackle and felt something so I must have strained it then.

"As I then ran back, it snapped completely, which is devastating for me because the manager said he'd had some good reports on me."

McEveley will have an operation to repair the problem later this week.

He added: "Thank God it's not the cruciate ligament, it's the one inside it, which has torn completely."