Help is close at hand for injured Preston North End midfielder Izzy Brown

Brown suffered a ruptured Achilles in training having played just one friendly in a PNE shirt.

He signed this summer from Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer but was injured in the middle of July.

The attacking midfielder now faces a battle to get himself fit before the end of the 2021/22 season.

Bauer, who returned on Saturday to play his first league game in more than eight months, knows exactly the position he is in.

The German suffered the same injury in December 2020, in a 3-2 win over Bournemouth.

He was ruled out for the rest of the season but made his competitive return against Mansfield Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup, before scoring the only goal of the game against Peterborough at the weekend.

Brown’s misfortune was felt right throughout the PNE squad and Bauer was quick to show his support.

He told the Lancashire Post: “Straight after it happened I was speaking to him. I said, ‘Look, I’m back now and I don’t have any issues at all.

“I know that it will take you a while but we will make sure together that you come back as a stronger player.’

“If he needs any advice 
I’m always open to speak to him.

“I speak to him regularly anyway and we’re going to make sure he comes back stronger as well.”

Despite only coming back into the first team recently, Bauer is raring to go.

PNE will be cautious when welcoming back the German, as they do not want to risk him breaking down.

The 28-year-old however is keen to play as many minutes as possible, especially in front of the PNE faithful.

He said: “I believe that I can play in every single game, I still feel I need a few more games to get back to my best but I think within the next few weeks I can achieve that.

“It was really good to be back in front of the fans, I really missed it.

“Before my injury it wasn’t really with supporters so it’s been a long time since I felt that sort of atmosphere at Deepdale.

“It was really good to be back.

“The supporters are so important to us and hopefully we can keep them on board for the future.”