Preston North End man reveals serious injury as he begins 'tough road to recovery'

Preston North End defender Josh Seary has taken to social media after he suffered a serious injury while playing for loan club Larne.

The 20-year-old is at the Irish League premiership side until January 12. But with just over a month until he is due to return to Deepdale, the defender has been struck down by an injury.

Seary, born in Liverpool but a two-time Republic of Ireland under-19 international, had been enjoying a run of games before suffering his injury last Saturday. He had made eight appearances in all competitions after joining at the end of August, and even got to play in the UEFA Conference League, playing 90 minutes in the recent defeat to Swiss side St Gallen.

His injury happened during the live televised match with Linfield, and it was described as a 'bad one' by his manager. There was said to be a lot of swelling and that he would require a scan. Now it appears the results of those tests have revealed that Seary will spend a period of time on the sidelines.

“Not the news I was wanting to hear from the results of the scan on my knee,” he said in an emotional Instagram post.

“It's going to be a long tough road to recovery but I will focus on my rehabilitation and getting back playing a quick as I can. I am even more determined to be back fitter and stronger after my operation.”

Seary has the support of the footballing world, with his former club Warrington Town giving him their best wishes. In a post shared on the social media platform X, Warrington said: “Our thoughts go out to former Yellows loanee @josh_seary, who suffered a serious injury playing for @larnefc over the weekend.

"We send our best wishes for a speedy recovery."

Seary's loan boss Tiernan Lynch has since departed Inver Park and has taken up the reigns at League of Ireland side Derry City. Gary Haveron has taken over as caretaker manager but Seary is now likely to return to England and do his recovery back with Preston.

To date, Seary has made five appearances for PNE. He made his debut in the EFL Cup tie against Salford City last season, and then went on to appear four times as a substitute in the Championship. He signed a one-year contract extension at Deepdale in February earlier this year.