After making his long-awaited return in the FA Cup on Saturday, Sam Allardyce is hopeful that David Dunn will bring that much needed spark to the team.

Until Saturday's 55 minute outing against Aston Villa, the Rovers midfielder had missed the previous seven matches due to a calf injury picked up against Stoke City at the end of November.

Dunn is the club's top scorer this season with six goals to his name, his last goal coming in the 2-0 win away at Bolton, Rovers' last three-point haul.

"We've been desperate to have him back," admitted Allardyce.

"When you look at the situation when we haven't had him, for me it has been a bigger loss than I expected.

"We beat Bolton and he got us on the way with a magnificent goal, but we haven't won since then.

"So that says how much we've missed him, he's as big a player for us as Steven Gerrard is for Liverpool."

Tickets for Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final 1st leg at Ewood Park are on open sale right up until the 8.00pm kick-off.

Avoid the queues at the ticket office on the night by ordering online at www.onerovers.co.uk and collect on the day of the game.

Tickets are priced from just £15 for Adults and £5 concessions.