Neil Critchley on Marvin Ekpiteta's absence for Blackpool at QPR and latest on Sonny Carey

The defender was left out of Blackpool’s squad for the second time in four games as the Seasiders slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to 10-man QPR.

It comes after the 26-year-old suffered a knock during the recent defeat to Bournemouth, which at the time appeared to be a fairly serious looking hamstring injury.

But Ekpiteta was able to recover in time for the trip to Cardiff City, only to be left out again at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium last night.

When asked why that was the case, Critchley told The Gazette: “The issue he came off with against Bournemouth, which we thought was going to be a serious one, we had good news on.

“It’s a bit of a neural problem, which is aligned to his back a little bit, so he still felt that towards the end of the game against Cardiff on Saturday, so we didn’t want to risk him again.”

QPR boss Mark Warburton made reference to Ekpiteta’s absence during his post-match duties last night.

Missing an aerial presence, it could well have contributed to QPR’s first goal, which was a really poor goal to concede from Blackpool’s point of view.

A corner swung in from the far side reached former Burnley defender Jimmy Dunne at the back post, who was able to head home into the bottom corner under minimal pressure.

When asked if Ekpiteta’s absence might have been a contributing factor, Critchley told The Gazette: “I’d have to see it back really. He gets a clear run so you have to ask who is blocking him. It was at the back half of the goal too.

“It’s just a corner where he gets a free header from, so when you don’t get the first contact you always run the risk of the ball ending up in the goal. Unfortunately that’s what happened.”

Critchley was also asked for the latest news on Sonny Carey following his visit to a consultant last week.

The 21-year-old, who has been sidelined since Boxing Day with a metatarsal injury, was initially expected to require surgery.

But after his operation in January was cancelled after he tested positive for Covid, it’s still yet to be decided whether the midfielder will go under the knife as there’s a chance - due to his young age - that the bone could heal naturally.

“He saw the specialist, he’s out of his boot and he will be putting some weight on it this week,” Critchley said.

“He will be going for a re-scan on Friday to see if him being out of his boot has any affect on that area of his foot.

“Again, after that re-scan, we will know more about his path in terms of the next few weeks and months ahead.”

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