Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray has taken the positives out of his side’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers. Northern Irishman Corry Evans played the full 90 minutes of the Rovers loss, and Mowbray is pleased that the 27-year-old has got some valuable playing time under his belt.

Evans has been suffering from a persistent groin problem, and this saw him restricted to just 19 appearances in the Rovers shirt last season. The versatile midfielder has taken part in all three games for the League One club this term including the Carabao Cup win at Coventry, but Mowbray insists that he will not play Evans in every game as the risk of injury still exists.

He said: “I think we need to manage Corry. He didn’t start at Southend because of that, what he’d been through. He didn’t kick a ball in the two months I was here last season, but I see on the training ground and in pre-season what a talented individual he is. We have to ease him back in to regular playing time so he will be in and out of the team. If you are looking for any positives from the game that was one.”

It was unsure whether Evans would play for Rovers again this season, with the Melbourne City FC news website reporting that he was close to a deal to sign for the A-League club over the summer. Thankfully for Blackburn fasn, that didn’t happen.

Evans had been in the reckoning for the Northern Ireland squad prior to his injury in January, and he is hoping to earn a call-up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and the Czech Republic. Northern Ireland are currently in pole position to qualify for the second round, but they will still require a humongous effort with the likes of Slovakia, Italy and Portugal among potential opponents in the knockout playoffs.

The former Manchester United graduate has amassed 114 outings for Blackburn Rovers since his arrival from Hull City in the summer of 2013. He has also earned good recognition in the national setup with 34 caps in eight separate years.