The Welsh winger is recovering from a second serious hamstring injury that has sidelined him since April – it’s been an injury-plagued season for Hedges, who was already sidelined for four months with the same problem.
Rovers have been meticulous about getting him back to full fitness during pre-season, with him taking part in various training sessions before being dropped off to ensure he is not overloaded and rushed back.
As a result, Hedges has not played a single minute in three friendlies but is a candidate for the game against second-tier Bundesliga side Nuremberg.
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That’s if he gets through this week’s training in Austria intact, the hope being that he will be fitter.
“Mr Hedge will join us this week and we are hopeful that he will not have to step aside at all,” John Eustace said.
“He’ll be like a new signing for us. Hedge is a great player for us and if he trains every day and is game ready now then that will be a big plus.”
The 29-year-old has a year left on his contract at Ewood Park, with the option to extend it for a further 12 months, and if he can stay fit and play this season, an extension to his contract is a real possibility.
Arnor Sigurdsson also emerged unscathed from the match against Tranmere Rovers after a week of extra training.
The Icelandic forward took on a different role up front, which Eustace felt suited him.
“I thought Siggy was extremely good against Tranmere on Saturday,” he added.
“He’s got a great role and it suits him well so it’s great to have him back on the field and he’s a great player.”
“He can score goals and he can create chances, which is something I’ve been talking about going forward. We want to improve on those numbers at the back line and Siggy can definitely do that.”
Sigurdsson is another player who has a year left on his current contract and, like Hedges, will be hoping to stay injury-free and have a bigger impact on the Rovers team.
Rovers fans were concerned at the lack of footage of forward Sam Schmodics on the opening day in Austria following reports of growing transfer interest from other countries.
However, the Lancashire Telegraph understands the Rovers star left later than the main group for personal reasons, only rejoining the camp later on Monday and therefore did not appear in any social media content published by the club.
He was linked with a move to Ipswich Town at the weekend, but reports of a £6 million fee were off the mark.
