Blackburn Rovers injury list prompts Michael O'Neill claim | Lancashire Telegraph

Todd Cantwell remains a big doubt for Blackburn Rovers' trip to Sheffield United, whilst Adam Forshaw couldn't be risked from the start against Coventry City.

Both players were absent from the defeat at Southampton but Forshaw was fit enough for the bench on Friday night. That was after the midfielder spoke to Michael O'Neill and declared himself fit to play.

"Cantwell was not close, no," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Adam, we didn't really expect him to be available. He did everything possible and came to me yesterday to say he felt he could contribute.

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"We didn't want to take the risk to start him so we were down to that 15/20 minutes period. Ideally, we maybe wouldn't have taken that risk but Taylor had been booked and the way the game was going, you only have to dangle a leg in midfield.

"We were mindful that we didn't want to lose a player at that point of the game."

"This has been the hardest time I've had putting a team on the pitch," O'Neill added, with double figures of players still unavailable.

"We're asking players to come back and play when realistically we shouldn't. Ryan Hedges, for example, he is coming in and shouldn't be on the pitch at this phase of his rehab but he's prepared to put himself out there.

"That's massive. They want to be involved and play but they're not able to do so. It would help us to have a few extra bodies back.

"I hope all of them are ready for Sheffield United, whatever we can do. I'll be lighting candles and doing whatever to get them over the line."

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O'Neill was unimpressed with the refereeing performance, which prompted Forshaw's arrival. Balazs Toth conceded a corner for holding onto the ball too long which the Rovers boss felt was over the top.

"The referee was liable to show a card, he was the star of the show tonight, awarding a corner for Balazs, that sort of thing," he said.

"I thought it was extremely harsh, ridiculous. I thought the first booking in the game was ridiculous as well. I was disappointed with that."