Matty Virtue ruled out of Blackpool's clash against Lincoln City while Sullay Kaikai is an injury doubt

Virtue has yet to make a league appearance for the Seasiders this season, his only cameo coming off the bench in the Carabao Cup defeat to Stoke City.

It was hoped the 23-year-old would be fit enough for this weekend’s clash at Bloomfield Road but head coach Neil Critchley has ruled him out.

Kaikai, meanwhile, returned from injury last week to replace Bez Lubala as a second-half substitute, only to pick up another knock after the game.

“Matty Virtue is still out, so he’s a doubt for the weekend,” Critchley said.

“Sullay Kaikai has not trained since Saturday as he felt something in his hamstring after the game. But we’ve still got 48 hours between now and Saturday, so we’re still hopeful he can be involved.

“A lot can happen between now and Saturday, so we’re still hopeful on Sullay. We’ve still got two training sessions, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

“It’s not serious, but we think Matty will be slightly longer so he won’t be involved at the weekend.

“The last few weeks have definitely been frustrating for Matty because he’s not used to being injured.

“He had a really good start to pre-season but the early part of the season has been a frustrating period for him. He’s a miss for us, but it’s part and parcel of the game unfortunately.

“He shouldn’t be out for too long, but with the season we’re facing with the amount of games we’ve got coming up then we’re going to need as many fit bodies as possible.

“You want all the players fit and you want them to be available for selection, but you also have to be mindful of the games programme and the season we’ve got ahead of us.

“It would be foolish to risk someone that could put them in an unnecessary situation where they face six, eight or 10 weeks out rather than one. That would be a stupid decision on my behalf, so I’m very mindful of that.

“That’s always in the uppermost of our thoughts when we’re making decisions on injured players.”