Neil Critchley gives Blackpool injury update ahead of Stoke City clash

The Blackpool boss revealed that scans taken this week showed the defender has suffered a hamstring injury.

Gabriel was a substituted off in the second half of the side’s 4-1 win against Reading last week. 

It was initially worried that he had sustained a muscle injury, but now it has turned out to be worse than first feared. 

That means he is likely to be out of the side for several weeks.

“Jordan Gabriel will be missing, he will be out for the foreseeable future,” said Critchley, via The Blackpool Gazette. 

“It’s a bit of a blow obviously. It’s not really serious, but it’s not like a Grade 1 where it keeps you out for seven to 10 days, it will be slightly longer than that.

“But he reliably informs me he’s a quick healer, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad and he will be back quicker than expected.”

Fortunately, James Husband has returned to training this week and could be in line to make his comeback this weekend. 

Husband hasn’t played since the hamstring injury he suffered while playing against Hartlepool in the FA Cup in January.

Chris Maxwell, Richard Keogh and Keshi Anderson are also all making good progress in their recovery from injury, but will be unavailable for the game against Stoke City. 

The club also learned that Sonny Carey’s foot will not require surgery after all. 

Blackpool go into this weekend’s clash with Stoke 14th in the Championship table. 

The Gabriel news is quite unfortunate as he has been a useful player for Critchley this season.

He is added to a growing injury list that has really hampered their form in recent weeks. 

The 4-1 win over Reading was a much needed reprieve from a run of games that saw Blackpool struggle.

The hope will be that this is a temporary blip exacerbated by injury and