BRADFORD City manager Graham Alexander says the club’s medical staff are assessing Kayden Jackson after he came off in the first half of Tuesday’s 1-0 derby victory over League One strugglers Rotherham United.
The former Ipswich Town and Derby County forward, who had started the game well, came off after failing to shrug off the effects of a challenge.
Alexander, whose side claimed their eighth home victory in nine matches thanks to Matt Pennington’s early goal, said: "The (Rotherham) defender landed on top of his thigh and knee, so he wanted to give it a go to see if he could run it off.
"Sometimes you can do when the initial shock wears off.
Bradford City's Kayden Jackson receives attention from medical staff against Rotherham United. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpeplaceholder image
Bradford City's Kayden Jackson receives attention from medical staff against Rotherham United. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
“But I think he understood that we've got a really strong squad on there, with the bench and everything, and there was no point in risking it.
“Fingers crossed he'll be okay, but we'll check him over.”
Alexander brought on Ethan Wheatley for Jackson on 24 minutes with the Manchester United loanee on the pitch for 50 minutes before being replaced himself in the 74th-minute.
Explaining the decision, Alexander, whose side visit Reading this weekend, added: "I saw him a few minutes before we brought him back off and put Humphs (Stephen Humphrys) on, he was absolutely breathing out of his backside.
Bradford City's Ethan Wheatley takes on Rotherham's Emmanuel Adegboyega. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpeplaceholder image
Bradford City's Ethan Wheatley takes on Rotherham's Emmanuel Adegboyega. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe
"He's missed a lot of football over the winter with his injury and he's getting back up to speed.
"I thought it was the right thing to bring him on for Kayden with our press. They're quite an aggressive line-up, so there's space in behind for us to keep working.
"I did actually say to Chris (Lucketti) after five minutes, because it was quite early when he came on, I think we might have to use another nine at a certain point.
"I thought it could be good for Humphs to come on with how they play for the last 20, 25 minutes. All three of them proved a handful for Rotherham to deal with.
"I'll never stop believing in the group as a whole.
"I haven't just got the best 11 players. I think we've got players that can come into the team at any moment and give us a performance.
"We need 20 players so we can have a strong team, a strong bench, and there are four or five outside of it, so there are tough decisions to make.
"But I think that's the only way we can compete against all the other clubs with whatever they have on board."