Hardly surprising, as it's the day he briefly had to consider a life without football.

"I'd done the usual warm-up stuff, sprints and jumping, and Youl Mawene was knocking balls up to me," he recalled.

"I felt good. I was ready for the game. I thought, 'This is the last one and then I'm into the dressing room for the gaffer's team talk'.

"I controlled it, and put the ball down at my feet ready to run. As I prepared to strike, that's when I heard the noise.

"It was like a cracking sound. A snap. I thought I'd been hit by a ball.

"When I turned around there was no ball or player anywhere. It was a strange moment, and when I tried to walk I couldn't.

"My studs were dragging on the turf because I couldn't lift my foot up. I saw Youl's face and I knew it was bad.

"When I realised the severity of the injury, that my Achilles tendon had snapped, then it really hit home.

"Moments like that in your life are really weird. I was thinking, 'I've got a mortgage and bills to pay. Is this it? The end of my career?'

"The doctor asked me if I had anybody at the stadium.

"My mum, dad, girlfriend and mates were all there.

"I sat in the dressing room and watched the lads win 2-1. That took a lot of the pain away.

"I was made up for the boys and it certainly improved my mindset.

"When my girlfriend came to the dressing room door she nearly burst into tears when she saw me.

"The gaffer was very good, you know.

"He turned to her and said, 'We'll get Liam fit again, he'll be fine'. That meant a lot. I'll never forget that."

He isn't bitter about what happened, but he has needed that strength of purpose over the last few months, as he takes the long road to a full recovery.

It could be Christmas before Chilvers pulls on the Proud Preston shirt again. "I think the hardest thing was the acceptance of the injury," he added.

"You know, facing months out of the game.

"I've done so much time on the rowing machine, I could win a call-up for the Olympic rowing squad.

"For the first month I could not do a thing, it was a debilitating injury.

"It is a lonely road back, but many people in the world have greater problems than me.

"I've never lost sight of how lucky I am to be a professional footballer. My parents gave me a good grounding and I've always respected my profession.

"I get paid for doing something I love and life has been very good to me."

Chilvers was Paul Simpson's second signing in the summer of 2006, days after Sean St Ledger from Peterborough.

Chilvers had rejected new terms at Colchester, and immediately impressed the Deepdale faithful with his calm and assured approach alongside St Ledger.

After a great start under the former Carlisle boss, when North End briefly reached the Championship summit, the decline was a sudden one.
Indeed, when Preston were edged out of the play-offs on the final day of the campaign, despite beating already- promoted Birmingham City, North End were in freefall.

"The way that campaign ended was instrumental in what went on the next season," added Chilvers.

"The lads came back raring to go, but then we went out to America for our pre-season tour.

"The itinerary wasn't thought through, and the arrangements weren't right.

"That trip set us back fitness-wise.

"It was all very disjointed and was reflected in the poor start we made. Some teams come back flying, but we just never reached that level."

Chilvers had only missed one game the season before, but he suddenly found himself out in the cold at the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign.

"It was very strange and disappointing how things developed," he said.

"I'd signed a contract extension that summer, but then I wasn't even on the bench.

"I was sat in the stand and it wasn't happening for the team and we weren't getting results."

Simpson was sacked four months later following a humbling defeat at Hull City, and new boss Alan Irvine was charged with keeping North End in the Championship.

Slowly, but surely, he infused a fresh spirit into a squad desperately low on confidence, and guided North End to safety.

I asked Chilvers about Irvine's qualities.

"He is a very astute coach, probably the best I've worked with since Arsene Wenger at Arsenal," says Chilvers.

"His first priority was our defence, and he made us very hard to beat.

"The manager made sure that we were all clued up, and that each player knew exactly what they were doing in every situation. He didn't overlook anything at all.

"He covered every scenario that we would be likely to face in a match.
"The training is first-class and much better than before.

"It is fresher, more ideas, and everybody gets something out of it.

"All the lads are a lot more comfortable on the ball and things are done a lot quicker.

"He has a lot of experience in the Premier League, having coached at Newcastle and Everton, but on top of that his man-management skills are very good.

"He is very honest about things.

"Some managers leave you out without an explanation, but not this guy.
"Because he is honest the players are honest back.

"Tactically he knows what he is doing and has got the players on his side."

Chilvers has come a long way from those early days at Highbury, signing scholarship terms with Arsenal aged nine.

"When I started playing at six, I was a goalkeeper," he recalled. "I was never scared of getting hurt or having the ball smashed in my face.
"Maybe a centre-half was a natural progression after that."

He was lucky in his apprenticeship, but he has seen the game change.

"It was like the United Nations of football at Highbury, with so many world-class players," he said.

"Later on, I had Tony Adams, Martin Keown, and Sol Campbell in front of me.

"It was going to be hard to dislodge Adams, the England captain.

"But just to be around those guys, though, was an education in itself.

"The things you learn from them. How they operate, the things they do and say.

"You just had to raise your game when you were around those players.

"You might never reach the levels they're at, but just to be in the same environment as Dennis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars, Patrick Vieira,
Emmanuel Petit, Ray Parlour, helps you attain levels you perhaps wouldn't have reached elsewhere.

"I played in David Seaman's testimonial match against Barcelona at Highbury.

"It was an unbelievable experience. I was thrown in at left-back and Tony Adams was at centre-half.

"I got the job of marking Simao Sabrosa, the Portugal attacker.

"But Adams talked me through the game.

"When to get tight on the attacker, where to stand, and when I should put my foot in for a tackle.

"His anticipation, organisation and the way he read the game was that good you didn't have to think what you were doing.

"I did well, and afterwards Pat Rice (Arsenal coach) complimented me on my performance.

"Adams overheard, and he joked, 'Anybody who plays next to me looks good'.

"Shortly after I was named in the first team squad for the Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

"I was so chuffed. However, the day before the game, Arsenal signed Junichi Inamoto from Japan and he got my place on the bench.

"That was the closest I got to my senior debut with the Gunners."

Chilvers is an Essex boy, born in Chelmsford 27 years ago.

So signing for North End was his first real taste of Northern life after loan spells at Notts County, Northampton, and Beveren in Belgium.

He eventually signed a deal with Colchester, playing a key role in their promotion to the Championship under Phil Parkinson, who fought Preston for Chilvers' signature when he became Hull boss.

"It was quite a change, but coming to Deepdale immediately felt right," he said.

"I had played at Deepdale in an FA Youth Cup tie and I was well aware of North End's tradition and the great names who had played for them in the past.

"It just really appealed to me and I just sense there are going to be some good days ahead.

"From my perspective it is a good time to be involved.

"The stadium is nearly finished and there's a really positive vibe about the place again."

There will be a lot of Preston fans rooting for this agreeable and talented player, hoping that he succeeds and prospers at Deepdale when he returns to the fray.

Looking back, he has few regrets.

Maybe just one, perhaps.

And that's a burning ambition he eventually hopes to realise at Deepdale.

"That's the only aspect of my career so far that I'd say was a disappointment, that I didn't get the chance to play in the Premier League with Arsenal," he said.

"It would mean a lot to do it with Preston North End.
"I hope it happens soon and I certainly think it is possible."