Blackpool squad news V Rotherham United: Four out and one doubt for final 2025 outing
Blackpool finish 2025 with a home meeting against Rotherham United this evening.
Blackpool welcome Rotherham United to Bloomfield Road for their final outing of 2025.
The Seasiders will be looking to finish the calendar year on a high, and build on their 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers on Boxing Day.
Ian Evatt’s side have already overcome Rotherham this month, having picked up a 3-0 victory over the Millers at the New York Stadium a few weeks ago, with Danny Imray, Tom Bloxham and Ashley Fletcher all on the scoresheet that night.
Here’s the latest squad news:
Hayden Coulson
Hayden Coulson was forced off in the opening exchanges of the Seasiders’ meeting with Wigan at the Brick Community Stadium.
It’s been confirmed the wing-back suffered a 3c hamstring tendon injury, and is set to spend the next six to eight weeks on the sidelines.
Michael Ihiekwe
Michael Ihiekwe has been battling a toe injury for a while, and forced him to exit early against Lincoln City earlier this month.
It was hoped the 33-year-old would be fine for the Wigan game, but the issue has proven to be complex.
Issuing an update ahead of Christmas, Evatt said: “Michael has obviously been suffering with this - I’ve got to be thankful and grateful to him because he’s put himself forwards when he’s been nowhere near 100 percent fit because we’ve needed him to.
“That’s obviously had an impact on his performance. That was down to him sacrificing himself and putting the team before himself. I’ve got a lot of respect for that.
“At this period of time, we’re just trying to settle that toe down. He’ll have a steroid injection in the next couple of weeks, which will hopefully get it right and at least settle it down until the end of the season, where we can work out what we need to do, whether it’s surgical or anything else.”
Niall Ennis
With a number of players recently returning to action for Blackpool, Niall Ennis will be hoping to join them in training soon having been out of action since the end of September due to an achilles problem.
Evatt has been left pleased with the progress the striker has made, and he could be back alongside his teammates inside the next week or so.
Dale Taylor
On what was his first start since October following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Dale Taylor was forced off after just six minutes against Doncaster.
Discussing the issue after the match, Evatt said: “He pushed off and felt a crack in his foot. It doesn’t look good, he’s away for a scan. It looks like a metatarsal.
“If it’s just a fracture, then without surgery then it’s six to eight weeks, but with surgery it’s months. We’re not getting much luck on that front.
“These things are unavoidable sometimes, and it seems like that today. All we can do is support him, and keep him positive.”
Jordan Brown
Jordan Brown picked up a knock against Doncaster that could leave him doubtful for this evening.
“He got a bit of a whack on his foot,” Evatt explained on Boxing Day.
“It looks like it has heavily bruised. It’s okay today playing on adrenaline, but when it settles down over night, it could be a problem for Monday.
“There’s a few carrying niggles and knocks, but all we can do is dust them down.”
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