VERSATILE Blackburn Rovers midfielder Jason Lowe is facing a fresh spell on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of the foot injury that has ruled him out of 18 league matches this season.

Lowe, whose last three appearances have come at right-back, is certainly ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup clash at home to Stoke City.

And he is unlikely to feature again this month after Rovers boss Gary Bowyer confirmed the 23-year-old, who came off 20 minutes into Tuesday’s 2-1 home win over Rotherham United, will be out for up to two weeks at least.

Bowyer said: “It’ a blow for us and we’re disappointed because the form of the lad has been terrific since he’s come back into the team. It’s made everybody appreciate Lowey even more than they did beforehand.

“It’s a shame for him because the way he finished last season he was ready to really push on and go to another level.

“I think we’ve seen that in his performances and showing his flexibility at right-back as well, he’s looked very comfortable there.

“So it’s disappointing for everybody, none more so than Lowey himself, but the character of the lad, he’ll want us to do well Saturday and the rest of the season.

“We hope he can come back quickly but for the next week or two we can safely say that he’s not going to be recovered enough to feature in that time. We’ll just take it from there with him.”

Lowe was sidelined for more than three months after discovering in August that he had been playing through a stress fracture in his foot.

He returned to full fitness in December but he made just two appearances before the problem flared up again.

Lowe spent another four weeks in the treatment room before he made a fresh comeback last month.