Paul Ince, the Blackburn Rovers manager, will give Robbie Fowler "a few weeks" to prove he can still play in the Premier League.

Fowler, 33, had an injury-wrecked season at Cardiff City last season and failed in a late bid to be fit for the FA Cup final. He will hope to earn a contract with Blackburn at their German training camp over the next fortnight.

Despite being offered new terms by Cardiff, Fowler has grabbed an opportunity to return to the big time offered him by his former Liverpool team-mate. "It is a case of Robbie getting his fitness," Ince said. "He picked up a little injury in training on Monday so he did not play at Macclesfield in our friendly that evening, which disappointed him. But we will take him to Germany and give him two or three weeks and have a look at him.

"We want to see his sharpness. But he still has what it takes, you never lose your natural ability. He has plenty of that, he has scored goals all his life. It is like riding a bike, you never forget. Even in the last few years, his goals per game ratio has been fantastic. So I will have a look at him, assess his fitness and we will go from there.

"We have made no commitment on Robbie as far as I am concerned, he has the chance to come here to show what he can do. Then I will assess the situation."

Ince made his debut as a Premier League manager with a 2-1 win at Macclesfield Town, the club who gave him his first break into management a mere 20 months ago. "I was pleased with the run-out, we played some good football at times and we have got plenty to work on," he said. "It is completely different being a manager in the Premier League, but for me it is great to be back in the top division."

Ince explained his decision to add Nigel Winterburn to his coaching staff on a part-time basis. "Nigel has come in to help on the defensive side," the Blackburn manager said. "Plenty of clubs have defensive coaches, and why not? Tony Adams is doing a great job at Portsmouth and he was part of the same fantastic Arsenal defence that Nigel was in."