Neil Critchley quashes injury fears over Blackpool duo and provides update on the fitness of James Husband

Neil Critchley has quashed fears that Blackpool defender Daniel Gretarsson has picked up another injury.

The centre-back was brought off 13 minutes from time during Blackpool’s 2-0 win against Swindon Town on Good Friday.

The 25-year-old, making his first start since January 9, having been sidelined by a hamstring injury, was keen to play on despite going to ground, causing a stoppage in play.

“Daniel is fine,” Critchley said.

“He was actually unwell leading into the game, he wasn’t feeling well so he hadn’t eaten a lot.

“It was more of a case that he was lacking energy in the final 20 minutes more than anything, it was like the blood sugar had gone out of his body and he was fatigued.

“But it was a top performance from him. It was his first start for a long time and he’s a warrior, he’s a competitor.

“He’s fine though, there’s no issues with him.

“I thought Jordan Thorniley came on and saw the game out for us very well.”

Pool fans will also have been sweating over the fitness of Sullay Kaikai, after the winger also went to ground late on in the game against Swindon.

But Critchley insists Kaikai was fine and it was a tactical decision to bring him off in the 85th minute.

“He’s fine, there’s no issues,” Critchley said.

“I say he’s fine, but I’ve not heard anything from the physio yet, so touch wood.

“It was just a tactical reason though, I wasn’t aware of any physical issues.”

The Seasiders, who are still missing a number of key first-team players through injury, could be handed a boost for their Easter Monday fixture against play-off rivals Gillingham.

Despite not being named in the squad on Friday, James Husband took part in the pre-match warm-up and is likely to train today ahead of tomorrow’s home game.

“He trained on Thursday, it was his first day of training,” Critchley explained.

“But we did light training so we wanted him to be here so we can control what he’s doing.

“He’s okay, he’s done some running so hopefully he’ll train on Sunday and be available for Monday.”

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