'Something I've never experienced before': Michael Appleton addresses Blackpool's injury situation ahead of Cardiff City test

Captain Marvin Ekpiteta serves the second and final match of his two-game suspension following the red card he was shown in the defeat to Wigan Athletic before the break.

Elsewhere, the Seasiders have seven players out injured: Jordan Thorniley, Jordan Gabriel, Liam Bridcutt, Kevin Stewart, Lewis Fiorini, Theo Corbeanu and Keshi Anderson.

Speaking last week, head coach Michael Appleton revealed he’s not expecting any of the seven to be back involved until the New Year.

“It’s something I’ve never experienced before,” he told The Gazette.

“Sometimes it can be the difference between winning and losing games, going on good runs and having good periods.

“As a manager you get judged on results, not necessarily performances, and sometimes the reality is having so many players out can have a big bearing on these things. It can be the difference between success and failure.

“You have to park that and put it to bed, because the important thing is the players that can affect what is in front of you.”

When asked if there is a clear and obvious reason for Blackpool’s injury woes this season, Appleton added: “No, not really. There’s loads of factors that come into play.

“I can assure you, we’ve gone through all the data and looked back at various scenarios and clearly there are lots of things that suggest it could be this, it could be that.

“There is a wide difference in the injuries we’re getting, it’s not like they’re all soft tissue injuries where you could look at pitches, the weather etc or whether it’s the boots the players are wearing.

“But we’ve got such a wide range of injuries it’s difficult to pinpoint one thing.”

Blackpool know they can leapfrog this weekend’s opponents in the league table with a win, with only two points separating the two sides in the league table.

Cardiff returned from the break with a 2-2 draw away to Stoke City, leaving them in 20th place.