THE general consensus since Scott Dann’s arrival at Rovers has been that he will form a central defensive partnership with Chris Samba this season.

It is the logical conclusion, given that Rovers were said to have paid around £6m for one and spent all summer desperate to hang on to the other.

The consensus may well turn out to be correct, but it rather overlooks one thing. Ryan Nelsen.

Nelsen may be 33 now and may have had his injury problems in recent times, missing Rovers’ last match at home to Everton after rushing back from a knee injury to bravely fill the defensive void at Aston Villa a week earlier.

But it must not be forgotten that last season Rovers had a £16.5m defender in their ranks and for the most part he could not dislodge the New Zealander.

Everyone knew Phil Jones was absurdly talented, yet he still had to play out of position in a holding midfield role for most of the season.

There was a brief experiment with a 3-5-2 formation to fit all three into the same defence but after that the Nelsen and Samba combination, which has been together for so long, was rarely tampered with.

So it might be a little soon to write off Nelsen just yet.

The Kiwi may have his work cut out earning a starting place but he signed a new contract in January keeping him at the club until 2013 – suggesting he remains in Steve Kean’s plans.

Dann has been talked about by Kean as a future captain of the club, but Nelsen’s leadership skills remain important too.

Those skills, together with his obvious defensive qualities, were the bedrock of New Zealand’s impressive performance at the 2010 World Cup.

Nelsen has always given his all for Rovers and has been an inspiration both to his home nation and to those who have watched him play at Ewood.

A consummate professional and a true gentleman, he is likely to simply see this as the latest challenge he must rise to.

Competition at the back, of course, is no bad thing. Should any of Rovers’ centre backs pick up an injury further down the line, there seems to be plenty of cover available.

Gael Givet is also a perfectly capable central defender, while Grant Hanley will continue to develop with further game time.

But it is Nelsen who has virtually become synonymous with Blackburn Rovers since he arrived in 2005 and it would be both strange and sad to see him no longer a regular in the side.

Kean will undoubtedly have some difficult selection decisions to make in the near future and it certainly seems highly unlikely that either Dann or Samba are going to be watching matches from the stands.

But Nelsen still has a big role to play at Rovers.

No doubt he will be determined to prove just that in the months ahead.