Blackpool will be without Colin Doyle until the New Year following confirmation that the goalkeeper has suffered ankle ligament damage.

The 30-year-old picked up the injury during the Seasiders' defeat to Barnet in the FA Cup last weekend.

With back-up stopper Kyle Letheren also facing a spell on the sidelines, boss Neil McDonald has revealed that he could now be forced to delve into the emergency loan market.

"He's done a couple of ligaments in his ankle and that's a big blow for us because Colin's been exceptional so far this season," he told the club's official website. "We don't really want to put a date on it, we want to see how the recovery comes.

"He's already had one bad injury with his shoulder but luckily he didn't have to have an operation for that. He's come back really strong and this is very, very unfortunate for him."

Providing an update on Letheren's injury, which was sustained against Wigan Athletic in midweek, McDonald added: "I thought he'd broke his collarbone but it's not as bad as we first thought.

"He's improved drastically over the last 24 hours and we'll see how he improves in the next 48 hours leading up to the game. If he doesn't make it, we've made a few phone calls and I'm using a few of my contacts to try and line another goalkeeper up."

Doyle joined Blackpool on a free contract during the summer after being released by Birmingham City.