Blackpool FC: Neil Critchley discusses Andy Lyons injury and explains why half time sub was made against Leyton Orient

Ollie O’Neill’s second half strike proved to be the difference between the two teams at Brisbane Road, as The Os leapfrogged Neil Critchley’s side in the League One table. While the Seasiders left East London disappointed following their ninth away defeat of the season, there also would’ve been concern in the camp following a serious looking injury to a squad member.

Lyons played just over 10 minutes in the game, before being forced off with a knee problem. The wing-back was introduced at the break to replace Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, who had picked up a yellow card during the opening 45 minutes.

"That substitution was tactical- Jordan had been booked and has played a lot of games recently,” Critchley explained.

"Andy then came on. It’s not nice to see a player stretchered off, and the way it happened- it wasn’t a coming together, there was no one near him, and there wasn’t any contact. When he goes down like that you fear the worse. It’s his knee so we’ll have to assess him. He’s in the dressing room with some ice on it, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad.

"When a player stops straight away and goes to ground, it doesn’t look right. We’d brought him on for a reason, to make a difference with his energy and to get forward, so we missed that a little bit.

"He looked okay in the dressing room after, but sometimes you never know the extent of these injuries until they’ve settled down in 24 hours, so we’ll give him time.”