Blackpool midfield duo in comeback contention

Sean Longstaff in action at Wigan last month

Blackpool manager Gary Bowyer hopes both Callum Cooke and Sean Longstaff will come back into contention for Saturday's trip to Blackburn Rovers.

Don’t miss the latest football news and gossip from leagues in England, Scotland and Europe with footballwire.co.uk Blackpool manager Gary Bowyer hopes both Callum Cooke and Sean Longstaff will come back into contention for Saturday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers.

The on-loan midfielders have been absent in recent weeks, Longstaff nursing a hip problem and Cooke having trouble with a heel.

Cooke’s injury led him to return to parent club Middlesbrough for a few days to be examined by the Riverside Stadium medical team.

But the 21-year-old, who hasn’t played for almost a month, was due to return to training this week.

Longstaff missed Pool’s win at Portsmouth but would have been available to play last weekend had the home game against Northampton Town gone ahead.

Speaking to The Gazette on Monday, Bowyer said: “Sean trained on Friday, so he would have come into contention for Saturday.

“He backed that up with another training session on Monday.

“Callum will train on Tuesday, so we’ll see how he goes. But he’s missed a week or two, so we’ve got to be steady with that one.”

Longstaff has played a leading role for Pool this season, scoring seven goals from midfield to stand second to Kyle Vassell in the club’s goalscoring charts.