Wanderers face an anxious wait before knowing whether midfield linchpin, Paul Warhurst, will be fit to figure in the promotion run-in.

The Reebok ace injured his ankle in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Stockport and is unlikely to figure in Saturday's game at Crewe, where Sam Allardyce is hoping to secure the first of six wins he believes will secure an automatic promotion place.

Tests will determine whether the one-time Premiership winner faces an even longer lay-off.

"It looks like we've lost Paul for Saturday," Allardyce confirmed, "but we'll probably need a scan to determine the full extent of the injury."

Warhurst, who was a member of the Blackburn side that won the 94-95 Premier League title, injured his ankle when he fell awkwardly in the 57th minute of the Stockport game. He tried to run off the injury but was substituted five minutes later.

The result left Wanderers without a home win in six attempts and put another dent in their hopes of claiming the second automatic promotion spot. But they were raised again last night when Blackburn could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United.

The point took Rovers back into second place in the table, ahead of Wanderers on goal difference and with two games in hand. But they missed a golden opportunity to take a two-point advantage.

"It wasn't a great night for us and not a great result," manager Graeme Souness admitted. "But we are still second. The ball is still in our court."

Rovers still have nine games to fit in before the end of the season but the hectic schedule holds no fears for Souness, who scoffs at Gerard Houllier's claims that a fixture pile-up is threatening the fitness of his Liverpool players.

The Ewood boss says whingeing about tiredness represents the downside of what foreign coaches and players have brought to the English game.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't run with this fatigue argument," Souness says.

"I can never remember being tired as a player, nor any of the men I played with.

"It's something that has crept into our game over the last few years.

"Foreigners - foreign players and foreign coaches - have brought a lot of good things into our game but they've also brought a few things that aren't so attractive, one of which is this argument that we play too much football and players get tired.

"When you're young, you can allow yourself to become convinced of something like that when people are telling you you're tired."

Top scorer Michael Ricketts, available again after a two-match suspension, warmed up for a possible return to the Wanderers' attack at Crewe with a goal in the Reserves' 2-0 victory over Port Vale last night.

Reserves report - page 70. WANDERERS face an anxious wait before knowing whether midfield linchpin, Paul Warhurst, will be fit to figure in the promotion run-in.

The Reebok ace injured his ankle in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Stockport and is unlikely to figure in Saturday's game at Crewe, where Sam Allardyce is hoping to secure the first of six wins he believes will secure an automatic promotion place.

Tests will determine whether the one-time Premiership winner faces an even longer lay-off.

"It looks like we've lost Paul for Saturday," Allardyce confirmed, "but we'll probably need a scan to determine the full extent of the injury."

Warhurst, who was a member of the Blackburn side that won the 94-95 Premier League title, injured his ankle when he fell awkwardly in the 57th minute of the Stockport game. He tried to run off the injury but was substituted five minutes later.

The result left Wanderers without a home win in six attempts and put another dent in their hopes of claiming the second automatic promotion spot. But they were raised again last night when Blackburn could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United.

The point took Rovers back into second place in the table, ahead of Wanderers on goal difference and with two games in hand. But they missed a golden opportunity to take a two-point advantage.

"It wasn't a great night for us and not a great result," manager Graeme Souness admitted. "But we are still second. The ball is still in our court."

Rovers still have nine games to fit in before the end of the season but the hectic schedule holds no fears for Souness, who scoffs at Gerard Houllier's claims that a fixture pile-up is threatening the fitness of his Liverpool players.

The Ewood boss says whingeing about tiredness represents the downside of what foreign coaches and