Stephen Reid has been crocked for Blackburn and Ireland for almost 10 months. He suffered a serious knee injury in the qualifier against Montenegro at the start of the campaign. He will not feature in any club or International games for the next few weeks as Blackburn try to ease the injury prone player back into the team.
Reid who is 28 is considered the best midfielder the Republic have. He will not be far away from playing some part in Irelands final qualifier games if he can stay fit.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce said on www.elevenaside.com
"Brett and Steven are making really good progress. We've got them joining in training on a daily basis now."