Emerton is confident his participation in the Asian Cup will see him return to Blackburn in prime condition.

He said: "It is tough but physically when I go back to Blackburn I am going to be in very good shape, we are training very hard here in very difficult conditions.

"Physically I'll be just as good if not better than the other boys when I get back to Blackburn."

After securing a place in the top six two seasons ago Blackburn missed out on a UEFA Cup place for the coming campaign after finishing 10th last season.

But Emerton believes Mark Hughes' side are well equipped for a renewed charge at the top end of the table with a number of key players returning from injury.

"I am really looking forward to the start of the new season," added the 28-year-old. "We had a relatively successful season and had a number of players out with long-term injuries.

"We finished 10th but were not too far off the UEFA Cup spots and we had a good FA Cup run and obviously a decent UEFA Cup as well.

"It will be good to get the likes of Steven Reid and Robbie Savage back in the squad and hopefully we will get a top-six finish and qualify for a UEFA Cup spot once again."