Matty Virtue could be set to make his long-awaited return to action by featuring for Blackpool against Fleetwood Town tonight.
The midfielder hasn’t featured for the Seasiders since a Carabao Cup appearance in late August, having been sidelined with a hamstring injury.
However, the 23-year-old has been back training for a couple of weeks now and is aiming to step up his recovery with some game-time in the Papa John’s Trophy.
“I think I’ll be involved in some part,” Virtue said. “That’s the first step in getting back to fitness. It’s obviously been a while and I’m looking forward to it. Just to hopefully get some minutes is a big bonus, then I can build on that.”
His availability comes during a hectic period of fixtures, offering plenty of opportunities to try and get up-to-speed with his team-mates.
“That can sort of work in my favour as I get back fit. With so many Saturday, Tuesday games to play, there’ll be a lot of minutes for me, hopefully.”
Virtue is expected to be one of a number of changes to the squad for Pool’s second trip to Highbury in a matter of days, yet that doesn’t alter the Seasiders’ approach to the competition.
“We go into every game wanting to win. This is no different. This is also a massive game for the squad, as we have a big squad and everybody wants to get minutes. If we keep winning games in this competition, then it gives the whole squad a chance to play,” he insisted.
