DERRICK Williams admits he could be fighting for his Rovers starting place when he returns from injury after being impressed with the performances of Charlie Mulgrew.

The 23-year-old defender has missed the last two league games after limping off against former club Bristol City with a pulled hamstring.

Since then he’s had to watch from the sidelines as his team have failed to move out of the Championship relegation zone.

And Williams admits that the performances of replacement Mulgrew, deployed as a stand-in full-back, have been excellent.

“Charlie has done well,” said Williams. “He is a quality player and he can play anywhere on the pitch.

“You saw the goal that Sam (Gallagher) scored against Aston Villa, it was a great ball in from Charlie. Hopefully I can get back in when I’m fit, but that’s down to the manager so we’ll see what happens.”

Williams revealed that his recovery is going well and he has been back training on the grass this week.

The international break could play into his hands too, meaning he will have had a fortnight to get himself fit by the time Rovers play again, at home to Brentford a week today.

He added: “It’s progressing well. I was outside running (earlier this week), so I’m just going to take it day by day and see what the physios think and how I’m feeling.

“The international break kind of helps because I don’t miss too many games.

“Hopefully I won’t miss another one, but I’ve just got to see how it goes in training and with the medical staff.

“If it feels okay then I might be in contention.”

Williams’ injury setback, which broke a run of 10 straight games in a Rovers shirt, proved a double blow for the Irishman.

Not only did he suffer the pain at Ashton Gate, a ground he left in the summer to sign a three-year deal at Ewood Park, but Rovers went on to concede a late Robins winner. in the 1-0 defeat.

“It was a bit of a bad day all round,” he admitted.

“The main thing was the result, that’s what I wanted to get the most, so to come off injured and to concede late was a bit of a killer really.

“But that’s in the past now so we’ve just got to look forward to the next game.”

He added: “To be fair, the gaffer is brilliant because he always tries to keep you full of confidence and does well at that.

“We know we should have got more points than we did but we’re just looking to the next few games and hopefully we can put it right.”