Steve Kean has revealed Chris Samba has no tear in his hamstring, but he is not ready to play for Blackburn's reserve-team on Monday.
The Rovers' chief has been desperate to get the influential Congolese central defender back fit and in the first-team to help their ongoing battle for Premier League survival, despite the player making a strong bid to be granted a transfer away from Ewood Park in the January transfer window.
Kean had always insisted that 27-year-old Samba would not be sold and the club backed the Scot by snubbing two firm offers from rivals QPR during last month's window.
And, while Kean admitted Samba was initially left out of the Rovers side since the January 2 home defeat to Stoke because his mind was not on the job in hand, a hamstring injury has also left him sidelined in recent games.
Samba failed to play in a behind closed doors game against Carlisle last Tuesday with Kean hoping he would be able to feature in the reserve clash against Wigan at Leigh Sports Village.
However, he has now confirmed that Samba will miss the game, although the fact his hamstring problem is not serious means he should be back in training this week with a view to being available for Rovers' next first-team game at Manchester City on February 25.
"I don't think he'll play in the reserve game," Kean said in the Lancashire Telegraph.
"But he's got the all clear on an MRI scan, which is the more detailed one that tells us there's no tear in his hamstring, so he'll be back in full training and will crack on from there."