Richard Keogh an injury doubt for Blackpool's season opener against Reading

The centre-back suffered a groin injury during the second-half of last weekend’s pre-season friendly against Everton, which saw him hobble off.

While the knock isn’t thought to be too serious, it could mean the 35-year-old missed Saturday’s curtain raiser.

“He’s still a little bit sore, so he’s 50/50 for Saturday,” head coach Michael Appleton told The Gazette.

“It’s not a bad one though, so if he doesn’t play we certainly expect him to be around for the Stoke game.

“He’s a warrior, he’s experienced and he knows his body, so we’ve wrapped him up a little bit and it will be interesting to see if he’s okay to train today. If he is, great. If not, then obviously we will try and make sure he’s available for Stoke.”

Elsewhere, James Husband (hamstring), Kevin Stewart and Jake Beesley (both stress fractures of the foot) all remain sidelined.

Jordan Gabriel, who has missed all of pre-season with a hamstring issue, is now on the mend and has made “significant” progress over the last couple of days.

“We’re pretty much where we were last weekend,” Appleton added.

“A couple of the other injured lads are getting closer to being around the team.

“Jordan has made some significant strides over the last two or three days, which has been really important to us because that’s clearly a part of the pitch we’re a little bit short in at the minute, so that’s been a plus.”