Steve Bruce discusses Blackpool's attacking considerations in the absence of Southampton loanee

The Southampton loanee had enjoyed an impressive start to life under the new Seasiders head coach before being forced off with a shoulder problem in the recent 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Along with Joseph, the pair had offered Blackpool high intensity at the top end of the field, which had proven to be effective both with and without the ball.

In Ballard’s absence, Jordan Rhodes started Saturday’s 3-0 win against Burton Albion, while Jake Beesley was given the green light in the midweek 1-1 with Lincoln City, with both struggling to have an impact due to their different styles of play.

The last three games have also seen Ashley Fletcher introduced off the bench following his return from a three-match ban for misconduct.

Discussing his decision to go with Beesley in the fixture against the Imps, Bruce said: “It was for freshness because I knew the way it was going to be.

“I knew it was going to be a big competitive game so I went with Bees (Jake Beesley) for an hour or so, and he did us proud.

“Dom and Kyle were terrific together, but there’s been injuries, it’s the same for every club. We have to find a solution, it’s straightforward. We’ve got some good players in that area so we have to find the right balance.

“I thought the Lincoln match was one for big Bees because of the physicality of what they give us - I just believed we needed that and for long periods we handled them extremely well.”

Earlier this week, Ballard made progress in his recovery from injury, but Saturday’s trip to Field Mill to take on Mansfield Town may come too soon for the 19-year-old.

“He’s back on the grass running, so we’ll see how comfortable he is,” Bruce stated on Monday.

“He missed a lot of last year with Reading, so he’s that type of character where he doesn’t want to be injured too long.

“We’ve got to make sure we protect him, but we will see how he is at the end of the week.”