BLACKBURN Rovers boss Gary Bowyer has hailed the return to full fitness of Chris Brown as good as any new signing.

Bowyer was unable to boost his injury-hit squad before the loan window slammed shut last night.

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But any regret he may have felt was swiftly overcome by the fact that Brown has been declared fit to take his place in the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Middlesbrough.

The strapping striker is still waiting to make his first-team debut for Rovers five months after arriving from Doncaster.

But he proved he is fully recovered from the knee injury that has blighted his short Ewood Park career by playing 51 minutes of Tuesday’s Lancashire FA Senior Cup clash with Manchester United.

And, after his successful run out for the Rovers XI, he is now in line to feature on the bench for the Riverside Stadium showdown with fellow promotion hopefuls Boro.

Bowyer said: “Browny will travel with us and we’re delighted with that.

“He came through the Lancashire Senior Cup game and he’ll be in the squad and hopefully on the bench on Saturday.

“He’s worked ever so hard to get where he is and it is like a new signing for us.

“So while we didn’t make any signings, we’ve got him.

“And I don’t see him just as being an impact player.

“I see him as a player who will push the other two (Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede), along with Luke Varney and David Dunn, to get a starting spot.”

With Josh King still on the comeback trail it is believed Bowyer wanted to add pace to his ranks.

But he missed out on Tom Ince to Championship rivals Nottingham Forest last month and moves he attempted to make in the market this week did not materialise.

Bowyer, however, insisted he was not disappointed.

“No, not at all,” he said.

“If you look at the quality we’ve got in the squad and how everybody is pulling together, it is not a major disappointment.

“It would have taken a special player to come into this squad and that’s credit to the lads that we’ve got here.”