Latest on Southampton loanee's recovery ahead of Blackpool's games against Lincoln City and Mansfield Town

The Southampton loanee suffered a shoulder blow in last Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium, which caused him to miss the Seasiders’ 3-0 win against Burton Albion at the weekend.

Despite making good progress in his recovery, Ballard is still likely to miss Blackpool’s upcoming fixtures, starting with tomorrow night’s meeting with Lincoln City at Bloomfield Road, before a trip to Field Mill to face Mansfield Town.

“Tomorrow is too early for him and Saturday might be a little bit too soon, but we’ll see how he is this week,” said Blackpool boss Steve Bruce.

“He’s back on the grass running, so we’ll see how comfortable he is. He missed a lot of last year with Reading, so he’s that type of character where he doesn’t want to be injured too long.

“We’ve got to make sure we protect him, but we will see how he is at the end of the week.”

Ahead of Saturday’s game, midfielder Lee Evans was a doubt due to injury, but overcame his problems to score the Seasiders’ third goal against the Brewers.

After the match, assistant coach Steve Agnew noted there were no new concerns around the 30-year-old despite jarring his knee during the fixture.

“That’s still the case - he trained well today, and he’s okay,” added Bruce.