Blackpool boss is dealt an injury blow with midfielder set for the sidelines

The 27-year-old injured his ankle during the draw against Fleetwood Town seven days ago, a knock that forced him off during the first half.

Having now undergone a scan to assess the severity of the injury, the results haven’t come back as positively as the Seasiders would have liked.

“Kev is going to be out for a number of weeks unfortunately,” said head coach Neil Critchley.

“He’s got what you would call a syndesmosis ankle injury, which you and me would call an ankle sprain.

“It’s quite a bad one, so he’s going to be out for a number of weeks.”

CJ Hamilton and Gary Madine will also be missing for today’s trip to Oxford United.

Having only just returned from a lengthy lay-off, Hamilton has since suffered a foot injury.

Madine, meanwhile, continues to struggle with a niggling groin problem.

Critchley explained: “CJ is still not feeling right with his foot, so we shall send him for a scan because even though it’s settled down, it still doesn’t feel quite right. There’s still a little bit of swelling and bruising.

“We’re going to have to investigate that a little bit further.

“As for Gary, we just had to come off him a little bit and give him a little bit more rest.

“Hopefully that period of rest settles the injury down and he can come back and we can start to progress him again.

“It’s been a frustrating time for him and us, and it’s been quite complicated, so we’re trying to find a solution to that as quickly as we can.”

Elsewhere, there is better news regarding centre-backs Daniel Gretarsson and Marvin Ekpiteta, who are both making good progress with their respective recoveries.

This will come as welcome news to Critchley, who will be without Dan Ballard for two – potentially three – games while away on international duty with Northern Ireland.

“We got good news on Marvin’s scan,” Critchley said.

“All the healing process has gone fine, so we can step him up and start to get him back out on the grass, progress him and push him on.

“He’s still going to be a couple of weeks away though.

“Everyone else is okay, although Keshi Anderson is obviously still out. James Husband reported a problem with the bottom of his foot (after Tuesday night’s draw with Burton Albion), but we’re expecting him to be okay.

“Other than him, everyone is fine and it’s the same as it was on Tuesday.

“In terms of centre-backs, we’ve got Jordan Thorniley and Daniel Gretarsson is training and would be available, so we’ve still got options there.”

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