Keith Southern has given the Seasiders a major injury boost after it was revealed that he hasn't torn his medial knee ligament.

The midfielder, who left the field at Bristol City on a stretcher on Saturday, went for a scan on his knee yesterday and was informed that the problem isn't as bad as first feared.

"I had a scan yesterday and I was fearing the worst, not only my medial ligament but my cruciate ligament as well," he told the official website. "I had a bit of good news last night and it's neither, I've torn a muscle, or a retinaculum, that attaches to the knee cap so I'm still going to be out a little while, but it's very positive in that I haven't damaged any of the main structures to the knee."

Southern admitted that his initial thoughts at Ashton Gate made him suspect a season-ending injury, ruling him out of a chance to play in the Barclays Premier League with the Seasiders.

"That was my first thought because the pain was really bad and really sore," he said. "I wasn't able to put any weight on it and it swelled up quite heavily, so I feared the worst.

"The scan was really reassuring and hopefully I'll see a knee specialist this week and he'll be able to advise me. Early indications are that I probably won't need surgery, he'll just put me in a knee brace for a certain number of weeks and I'll be back sooner rather than later.

"I'm very hopeful that I'll be back in the next couple of months," he added.

We'll have an exclusive video interview with Keith on Tangerine Player a little later.