BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness believes it could be several weeks before Javier De Pedro starts firing on all cylinders.

The 30-year-old winger, who joined Rovers on a free transfer from Real Sociedad earlier in the summer, is still short of match fitness after missing a large chunk of pre-season training with a thigh strain.

As a result, Souness reckons the Spaniard may need at least six games to get fully acclimatised to the pace and intensity of the Premier League.

But the Rovers boss is relishing the prospect of unleashing De Pedro on unsuspecting defences in the coming months.

And he has backed his summer signing to become a big hit with Rovers fans once he finds his feet at his new club.

"I don't think our fans will see the best of Javi until he's played half a dozen games in the Premiership," said Souness.

"He missed a good 10 days of pre-season training early on because of the strain he had.

"And as a foreigner coming into our football, he was always going to need time to adjust anyway.

"But you can tell he's a top class player and top class players adjust quickly."

Meanwhile, Souness has been pleased with the way his squad's pre-season preparations have gone, although several injuries to key players have hindered preparations.

Javier De Pedro, Craig Short and David Thompson are now fit and available for selection against West Brom, and Rovers are confident Brad Friedel will also

be ready for the Premiership opener against West Brom after suffering a muscle tear in Germany.

Steven Reid is the only player who has a long-term injury -and he could be sidelined until the middle of October as a result of a broken metatarsal bone in his foot.

"Our pre-season has been good and the players have all worked very hard," said the Rovers boss.

"In terms of injuries, though, it's obviously not been quite as good as we would have hoped.

"The injury to Reidy in particular is a real disappointment.

"He hasn't got going and it's a real shame for the boy.

"This is another test for him but he's a young fella and he'll get through it.

"He was just starting to play with a bit of confidence and then that happened.

"He's the kind of boy who needs confidence and this is a nightmare for him."