Michael Appleton confirms expected return dates for Blackpool midfield duo Charlie Patino and Lewis Fiorini

Patino suffered swelling to his ankle after falling awkwardly on his foot at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.

Fiorini, meanwhile, was also forced to hobble off with a hamstring injury.

Providing an update on the midfield duo ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Burnley, head coach Michael Appleton said: “There’s slightly better news on Charlie than I first feared if I’m being honest, but it’s still going to be potentially four weeks.

“Depending on how he recovers and how it settles down in the next few days, it might be a few days earlier and it might be three or three-and-a-half weeks. But as we understand it at the minute it’s going to be four weeks.

“Lewis is likely to be eight weeks, which is not ideal.

“Obviously I was delighted with the way those lads played on Tuesday night and the fact we got three points, but it was a little bit of a sour note losing two very influential players.

“We’re not having much luck at the minute when you look at the injury room, because it’s crammed with players who can definitely hold their own and consider themselves first-team starters.

“I know every club has injuries and it’s very early days, but a club our size and a squad our size to have the type of injuries and the amount of injuries we’ve had, it’s certainly challenging.”On a more positive note, Gary Madine could come back into contention after missing the last two games with a shin problem.

“Gaz trained on Thursday, so as long as there’s no reaction today he will be available tomorrow,” Appleton added.

Elsewhere, Luke Garbutt, Kevin Stewart, Keshi Anderson and Jake Beesley all remain sidelined.

The Seasiders head to Turf Moor tomorrow afternoon looking to claim a second straight victory after their first win at Loftus Road in 50 years.

Burnley, meanwhile, have yet to win since their opening day 1-0 victory against Huddersfield Town.

It leaves Vincent Kompany’s side on five points, one fewer than the Seasiders.