Joe Hilton made his senior debut for new loan club Fleetwood Town last night – just hours after signing an emergency seven-day deal.

The League One side had only a matter of hours to source a new goalkeeper, with Alex Cairns forced to self-isolate on the day of their Papa John’s Trophy tie at Hull City, adding to the injury to Joel Coleman and the decision last week not to extend the deal of former Rovers goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler.

Rovers, and Hilton, came to their aid, with a loan deal agreed that saw the 22-year-old make his senior debut in last night’s 3-2 defeat.

“We got a phone call (on Tuesday morning) to tell us Alex Cairns had symptoms and he was struggling so the staff all pulled together to get a goalkeeper to come between the posts and fortunately enough we got Joe Hilton in from Blackburn Rovers,” Fleetwood interim boss Simon Wiles said.

“We’re happy for him to come here and get the experience and I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from the game. We just have to be patient with Alex Cairns but it’s also exciting for the club to have Joel Coleman coming back.”

Hilton has had a difficult last 12 months with injury, having previously established himself as first-choice at Under-23s level following his signing from Everton.

Rovers have a crop of young goalkeepers at the club, with Jordan Eastham and summer signing Antonis Stergiakis competing for the gloves in Billy Barr’s side.

Hilton could now make his league debut against Portsmouth on Saturday, a first league fixture since Boxing Day for the Cod Army who parted ways with Joey Barton this month.

Meanwhile, Tyler Magloire is back at Rovers after his loan spell at Hartlepool United ended. The National League side, second in the table, however, are keen to extend it for the remainder of the season. 

The 22-year-old played 10 times for Pools, his two-month loan ending after the weekend win over Wealdstone. 

Rovers are considering their next move with the defender.