Main questions following Blackpool's pre-season outing against West Brom - with ex-Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic man still absent

Sonny Carey and Ashley Fletcher were both on the scoresheet for Neil Critchley’s side - who are next in action against Sunderland at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel picked up his first minutes of the summer, but a couple of other players remained unavailable.

Here’s some of the main questions after the latest pre-season outing:

How long until Grimshaw returns?

Dan Grimshaw was once again absent from Blackpool’s squad for the game against West Brom, and is yet to feature in a pre-season game so far this summer due to a knee problem.

With the ex-Manchester City youngster currently on the sidelines, Richard O’Donnell and Mackenzie Chapman have both featured between the sticks for Neil Critchley’s side in the last few weeks.

Grimshaw’s injury is not believed to be too serious, but he is also expected to miss Saturday’s game against Sunderland at Bloomfield Road.

It is currently unclear how long beyond that it will be until he will be ready to feature.

Evans’ absence

The Seasiders’ latest addition Lee Evans is yet to feature in a pre-season game so far this summer following his arrival as a free agent.

Due to a personal reason, the midfielder missed the first half of the club’s pre-season trip to Spain, meaning he wasn’t in contention for the friendly against Cadiz due to the short amount of time he spent in training in the build-up.

Perhaps this was also the reason behind his absence against West Brom, and unless there’s any injury concerns, you’d expect him to be involved against Sunderland.

Who will be the favoured front two?

Jordan Rhodes and Kyle Joseph started up front together for the second time this summer, after previously being named as the attacking pairing in the first-team’s opening friendly against Fylde.

The two players didn’t get a long stretch of time playing alongside each other last season due to injuries at various points, as well as competition with others.

It’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod as the starting strikers in the League One opener away to Crawley on August 10.

Rhodes and Joseph on paper should be able to complement each other with their attributes, while new signing Fletcher should offer something different, with the ex-Manchester United youngster chipping in with a goal against the Baggies after coming on at half time.

Of course, there’s also Jake Beesley who chipped in with his share of goals last season, as well as Kylian Kouassi who is currently working his way back from injury.

What is Carey’s best role?

Carey enjoyed an impressive end to the 2023/24 campaign.

The midfielder’s performances had been mixed throughout the majority of the season, but he stepped up in the latter stages.

From Good Friday onwards, he brought an additional spark in the centre of the park, and seemed to link up well with Hayden Coulson in particular.

The 23-year-old formed part of a midfield three in the first half against West Brom, alongside Ollie Norburn and Albie Morgan, where you’d expect him to be the most attacking option.

He chipped in with a goal in the behind-closed-doors game, which could easily become a regular part of his game based on past signs.

Last year he played his best football as part of a two behind loanee Karamoko Dembele, so the key will be finding the area where he can replicate his best football.

With Rob Apter returning from his successful spell with Tranmere, you’d also expect him to be under consideration for a role just off the strikers.