Blackpool defender Alex Baptiste is facing a spell on the sidelines, manager Ian Holloway has confirmed.
The 24-year-old, who has been playing with a fractured hand in recent weeks, is to undergo exploratory knee surgery after an old injury flared up during the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea.
And Holloway said: “Hopefully the worst it’ll be is four to six weeks, but it could be something else.
“They won’t tell completely until they’ve been in there.”
Baptiste will now miss the big Premier league clashes with Liverpool and Manchester City, but Holloway insists the former Mansfield man should not be too downhearted.
He added: “He is a lucky young man, there are a lot of things 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.”