'It's a double-whammy': Blackpool's cruel defeat to Bournemouth compounded by injury news to Marvin Ekpiteta and Richard Keogh

Blackpool could be facing a spell of games without their first choice centre-backs.
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Richard Keogh missed yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth with a calf injury he sustained in the midweek draw against Coventry City.

His defensive partner Marvin Ekpiteta, meanwhile, hobbled off clutching his hamstring on Saturday having only just returned from a knee injury.

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It saw Jordan Thorniley and Oliver Casey finish the game in central defence, with the latter making his league debut for the club.

On Ekpiteta’s withdrawal, Critchley said: “It looks like a hamstring. That makes me feel even better, it’s like a double-whammy.

“It’s a similar time to when he suffered a hamstring injury last season, so fingers crossed we get good news.

“I thought Ollie Casey came on and did very well though. What a time to make his debut.

Ekpiteta hobbled off with a hamstring injury against Bournemouth yesterdayEkpiteta hobbled off with a hamstring injury against Bournemouth yesterday
Ekpiteta hobbled off with a hamstring injury against Bournemouth yesterday
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“I’m really pleased for him because he’s had to remain patient, but he did very well when he came on and got a great block inside the penalty area.

“If we don’t get good news on Marvin…to lose Marvin and Richard Keogh in a week is very hard to take.”

The Seasiders were hopeful of good news on Keogh’s scan, which he had on Thursday after suffering the setback at Coventry on Tuesday night.

When asked if the results brought any positive results, Critchley added: “No, not really. He’s going to be out for a period of time.

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“I never like to put timeframes on injuries because everyone heals at different rates.

“When you lose a game of football and you lose Marvin, when you’ve already lost Keogh during the week, we’ve lost some big players there.

“But for us still to be competing with the likes of Bournemouth, we’ve done incredibly well.”

The latest setbacks to Keogh and Ekpiteta mean Critchley's side now have nine players out injured, with Chris Maxwell (quad), Luke Garbutt (knee), James Husband (hamstring), Matty Virtue (ACL), Grant Ward (achilles), Sonny Carey (metatarsal) and Keshi Anderson (hamstring) all sidelined.

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Gary Madine took the captain's armband yesterday once Ekpiteta left the field, becoming the fourth player to skipper the Seasiders in the league this season.

Despite impressing in central midfield recently, Callum Connolly could provide another option at centre-back.

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