Kevin Stewart admits: I lost my head during Blackpool injury nightmare

The 28-year-old made his first start for Blackpool since October in Saturday’s cruel 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth.

Stewart, who made a late cameo off the bench in the draw at Coventry City four days earlier, had been sidelined for over three months with an ankle injury.

It was the midfielder’s second injury of the season, having made a delayed start to the campaign following a setback in the pre-season friendly against Manchester City.

Stewart has only made five appearances for Neil Critchley’s side this term but things are finally looking up for the former Liverpool man, who managed to last the full 90 minutes at the weekend.

Stewart told The Gazette: “On a personal note and a positive note, I was just really happy to get 90 minutes under my belt.

“To be fair, I felt all right out there. I probably felt worse in the first half, when I had to get up to the speed of the game, but after that I felt decent.

“I didn’t feel too fatigued, which I was expecting to beforehand, so that’s definitely a positive.

“In the midst of the injury, my head was really gone at the time.

“It wasn’t a straight-forward injury – it was one we struggled to get to grips with.

“In the middle of it, it was really tough. It was probably one of the toughest injuries I’ve had. Now I’m just glad to be on the other side of it.”

Stewart was in the frame to return a couple of weeks earlier for the Seasiders only to be called up for international duty by Jamaica.

The midfielder missed the games against Fulham and Bristol City as a result.

However, it may have worked out for the best as Stewart made a couple of cameos off the bench in World Cup qualifiers against Panama and Costa Rica, his first two caps for his country.

He added: “I was really happy and proud to get the call-up and make my debut, but it probably didn’t come at the best time.

“I would have liked to have been involved at Fulham and then I obviously missed the Bristol City game as well, which wasn’t ideal.

“But it was good minutes and maybe even the altitude out there helped my lungs. I felt all right, so there were positives to take.”

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