Wednesday Feb 22 2006 11:12
Blackburn Rovers Paul Dickov has made a quicker than expected recovery from a shoulder injury and could return to action against
Arsenal on Saturday.
It was initially feared the striker could miss the rest of the season after suffering the nasty injury against Newcastle a month ago, but Dickov has made a miraculous recovery and could face the Gunners at Ewood Park.
The return of Dickov is a big boost to boss Mark Hughes, who has been struggling with injuries to his attack this season.
Dickov will now battle it out with Craig Bellamy, Shefki Kuqi and Florent Sinama Pongolle for the striking roles as Rovers go in search of finishing in a European place.
Dickov is relishing the challenge and says there is no reason why Rovers cannot clinch a place in the UEFA Cup, starting with three points against one of his former clubs.
"The UEFA Cup is definitely a realistic target," Dickov revealed. "We've set ourselves different targets at different times of the season, but we're bang on course for Europe.
"Last summer, if you had told me Arsenal would be coming to Ewood Park in February just one point ahead then I'd probably have laughed.
"It just shows you how far we have come since last season. Confidence is the difference and we also train a lot harder than other teams."
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