SAM Allardyce has revealed it could be several weeks before Michel Salgado is ready to make his full Premier League debut.

The Rovers chief pulled off a major coup last week when he swooped to sign the classy Spaniard on a free transfer from Real Madrid.

However, Big Sam will resist the temptation to call on the 33-year-old before he is ready, insisting he needs time to get physically conditioned for the Premier League.

The Rovers boss said: "Salgado won't be ready for a few weeks yet. There is no point in trying to thrust him in unless we are absolutely desperate.

"As great and as experienced a player as he is, it is a major thing to cope with the Premier League when you get here from abroad, and we have to get him physically conditioned to cope with that."

 

Salgado will not be involved in tomorrow's Carling Cup tie with Gillingham, and Big Sam is likely to be without several more of his first team squad, as Ryan Nelsen, Benni McCarthy and Franco Di Santo are all nursing injuries.

The Rovers chief added: "Having looked like being injury free, all of a sudden, in the space of a few days, we are down to the opposite.

"We'll go with the strongest team we have tomorrow and try to boost our confidence by getting a victory which would take us through to the next round."