Neil Critchley explains CJ Hamilton's absence for Blackpool's game against Burton and the delay in Kevin Stewart's ankle scan

The winger was a surprise absence from Blackpool’s squad last night, leading to fears from supporters that Hamilton had suffered a setback on his return.

The 25-year-old missed two months of action after Christmas having suffered a serious hamstring injury, returning at the start of March.

Having featured in four straight games, Hamilton was missing on Tuesday night with a fresh injury according to Neil Critchley

“He reported a problem with his foot on Monday after the game at the weekend,” Pool’s head coach said.

“He doesn’t remember how he’s done it or he doesn’t recall an incident in the game where he’s got trodden on or he’s gone over on his foot.

“But he’s got some bruising and some swelling on his right foot, so he wasn’t available and he wasn’t right for this game.

“We’re hopeful it settles down in the next 48 hours.”

Elsewhere, there is still no news on the extent of Kevin Stewart’s ankle injury.

The midfielder, who suffered the knock during Saturday’s goalless draw against Fleetwood Town, was initially expected to undergo a scan on Monday afternoon - but that had to be pushed back.

“When you have a scan, you have to make sure the swelling and bruising has gone out of it as much as possible to get a true image of it,” Critchley explained.

“He’s actually not going for his scan until Wednesday now, so he’s just been resting at home.

“He’s not been putting any weight on his foot and he’s in a boot, which is just precautionary to keep him off his feet.

“We won’t know more until Wednesday night or Thursday.”

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