Blackpool down to bare bones for visit of Middlesbrough

Posted Tuesday, December 28, 2021 by PA

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley has a major selection headache ahead of Wednesday night’s Sky Bet Championship clash with in-form Middlesbrough.

Already missing Chris Maxwell, Luke Garbutt, Kevin Stewart, Matty Virtue and Grant Ward, the list of absentees grew significantly ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Huddersfield, with Reece James, Callum Connolly, Ryan Wintle and Owen Dale added to it as Covid-19 and injuries took their toll.

A fresh coronavirus case and defender Jordan Gabriel’s two-match ban after he collected his second red card of the season at the John Smith’s Stadium have further depleted Critchley’s squad.

In addition, midfielder Sonny Carey suffered a metatarsal injury at Huddersfield and is likely to be sidelined for some time, and a series of bumps and bruises have left the Seasiders struggling to field the required goalkeeper and 13 outfield players.

Boro manager Chris Wilder was hoping for a clean bill of health following Tuesday’s latest round of Covid testing.

He otherwise has no fresh injury problems following Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Nottingham Forest which extended their unbeaten run to five games, four of them victories.

Wilder made one change for the Forest game with Onel Hernandez replacing Duncan Watmore in the starting line-up, and Lee Peltier came off the bench following his return from an enforced Covid lay-off.

However, Marcus Browne, Marc Bola, Darnell Fisher and Sammy Ameobi remain on the sidelines.