Ben Brereton Diaz: Blackburn Rovers confirm Chile striker damaged ankle ligaments

Ben Brereton Diaz had been a regular for Rovers before his injury

Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz has damaged ankle ligaments and no timescale has been placed on his return, says boss Tony Mowbray.

The 22-year-old, who is Rovers' top scorer with 20 goals this season, was initially thought to have twisted his ankle in the draw with West Brom.

Brereton Diaz will miss games against promotion rivals Sheffield United, QPR and Fulham over the next two weeks.

"Ben won't be available for a few weeks, at least," Mowbray said.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "He's damaged some ankle ligaments, so we won't be seeing him for a while. Is it four weeks? Six weeks? Eight weeks? Ten weeks? I don't know.

"Ben will be ready when he's ready, we'll have to get on without him for the short term, and let's hope he can impact the end of our season."

Rovers are third in the Championship, before Wednesday's game against the sixth-placed Blades.

Brereton Diaz might also be a doubt for Chile's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay at the end of March, either through the injury or a lack of game time following his recovery.

The former Nottingham Forest forward has four goals from 11 appearances for La Roja.

• 'I was the most successful medium': Meet the self-confessed conman who lifted the lid on the 'psychic mafia'

• 'One hell of a homecoming': Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley puts himself through a gruelling Comic Relief Challenge