Blackpool's injured Cooke back at Boro

Don’t miss the latest football news and gossip from leagues in England, Scotland and Europe with footballwire.co.ukIt was hoped the on-loan midfielder, who has missed the last three games with a heel problem, would be fit to retake his place in Pool’s squad this weekend.But manager Gary Bowyer revealed the 21-year-old is still struggling to such an extent he has been sent back to parent club Middlesbrough to be assessed by their medical team.Bowyer said: “Callum has gone back to Middlesbrough for a couple of days for them to have a look at it, so he won’t be available for this weekend.”But there is better news elsewhere on the injury front for Blackpool.Cooke’s fellow midfielder Sean Longstaff could return tomorrow after missing the win at Portsmouth with a hip problem, while striker Kyle Vassell has trained all week after his comeback at Pompey.Vassell, who has been in and out of the team in recent weeks due to a recurring hamstring injury, scored in the 2-0 win at Fratton Park.He was subbed with seven minutes to go but that was just a precaution, leaving Bowyer hopeful his top scorer will be fit for Pool’s final 12 games.Bowyer said: “Kyle is fine and I think the goal has given him a massive boost.“He’s back playing and in the second half last Saturday we started to see a bit more of what he’s able to produce. He’ll just get better the more games he plays between now and the end of the season.“The plan is for him to play in every game but we might have to be sensible when we have three games in a week. It’s about picking the right time and seeing how he is.“But we’re confident we have Kyle back now until the end of the season and you saw how important he is to us at Portsmouth on Saturday.“It’s just frustrating he’s missed as much time as he has. “It’s the same with Mark Cullen but Cully is doing well now and has continued training with the group.“The weather has delayed that a little bit but hopefully we can increase it again next week and look to get him out in a friendly.”Cullen has been sidelined for almost half a year after being forced to undergo hamstring surgery in October.But he returned to training last week and it is hoped he will feature before the end of the campaign.