KEY POINTS:
New Zealand defender Ryan Nelsen is returning from injury and set to play his first game of the English Premier League soccer season for Blackburn Rovers next month.
Nelsen has missed the first half of the season for struggling Rovers with a hamstring injury but he has resumed training and manager Mark Hughes said the signs pointed to a January return.
"Ryan is now having some good sessions with the group," Hughes said.
"Obviously he is not allowed to sprint and go flat out. But he is looking like a footballer again, which we are all pleased about.
"He is very positive and it is a case of building up the strength in the hamstring and the damaged area.
"If he is back before the end of January we will be delighted."
The man dubbed by Blackburn fans as "The Admiral" underwent an operation in September and is one of several players the club has missed this season as they have slumped to 16th place.
Five wins from 17 games leaves them just two points outside the relegation zone.
Hughes promised supporters a return to the form that saw Blackburn finish sixth last year, hopeful a wretched luck with injuries and suspensions was over.
Nelsen, Brett Emerton, Steven Reid and Jason Roberts are all expected back in the New Year, while there is the possibility of a couple of new signings.
"We need to get the senior players that we have missing back," Hughes said.
"If we can add to the squad, we'll look to do that. Once the players are back, and with the squad I have available, the second half of the season will be certainly better than the first half."
In August Nelsen extended his Blackburn contract by a lucrative four years in the face of a bid from premier league rivals Portsmouth.
He joined the club in January 2005 on a free transfer from American Major League Soccer side DC United and established himself as a key figure in heart of the Rovers' defence.
Nelsen's only accomplishment of late was winning the supreme men's award for the second successive year at New Zealand Soccer's annual dinner last month.
- NZPA
