Alex Baptiste could be out for 6 weeks
Blackpool will be without the services of central defender Alex Baptiste after it was confirmed that he will have to undergo exploratory surgery on a knee injury.
The injury is a re-occurrence of an old injury which became problematic again in Blackpool’s last Premier League match against Chelsea.
The 24-year-old who also has a fractured hand could face between 4 to 6 weeks out of the game after the defender’s scan returned with an inconclusive result.
Blackpool’s manager Ian Holloway believes that the situation could have been far worse. “Hopefully the worst it will be is 4-6 weeks, but it could be something else. They won’t tell completely until they’ve been in there.”
The defender first experienced the problem when he was sixteen at Mansfield Town and it has been something the player has been forced to live with ever since. However, Baptiste has played regularly throughout his career while at Mansfield, apart from one
season when he injured his back.
Once Mansfield were relegated, the player sought a transfer and signed for Blackpool in July 2008. He played for the reserves for the first two months, but cemented his place in the side towards the end of the season. He has been an ever-present in Holloway’s
plans ever since.
Baptiste is likely to miss the Premier League matches against Liverpool and Manchester City. However, Holloway has stated that the player is very lucky. “He is a lucky young man, there are a lot of things a lot worse than that. I can assure you a knee injury
will be fixed. It might take a few weeks or four to six weeks, but keep your chin up, you lucky individual.”
Baptiste will hope that the operation reveals nothing serious and that he can return to play in October.
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