Paul Heckingbottom confirms injury setback after Preston North End's draw at Hull City
PNE were pegged back to 2-2 at Hull City on Tuesday night
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has confirmed an injury setback for Brad Potts.
The Lilywhites were preparing to welcome the number 44 back to action, with Potts having not featured yet in the 2025/26 season. He suffered a hamstring injury in March and missed the rest of the previous campaign, but did feature against Bolton Wanderers in pre-season.
Since then, though, the 31-year-old has been on the sidelines along with senior players Robbie Brady, Jordan Thompson and Will Keane. Potts was said to be the next in line to return but Heckingbottom confirmed the bad news after Tuesday’s draw at Hull City.
He said: “No, I don't think we'll get Brad now. It looks like he's had a little bit of a setback which is disappointing. So yeah, that's probably the biggest frustration of the day, getting that news.”
Paul Heckingbottom on PNE duo
Andrija Vukcevic and Michael Smith were brought into the Preston starting lineup at the MKM Stadium. The former was one of the strongest performers on the night, delivering quality crosses from the left flank. Smith, meanwhile, was effective alongside Milutin Osmajic and scored his first goal in a PNE shirt on 10 minutes.
Post-match, Heckingbottom said: “Yeah, we saw that when we brought him (Vukcevic) in. He can cross on the run. His physicality is really, really good. After their first goal we were on the back foot; it took us a while to get back to grips with it I felt, and get in control.
“But after that, Andy's getting crosses in, Thierry's getting crosses in, we should get goals, we should get goals. But that's why we brought him in - that's what we wanted and that's what I said to Thierry. It's alright us getting the ‘Oles’ in the first half, but how many deliveries did we get in the second half? We did.
“So, the message is so many positives, but we're not where we want to be - and the fact that we're all frustrated is a good sign, I think. He (Smith) gives us something different, his presence. That finish he's got, people underestimate his finishing. When it dropped to him, I was delighted and I knew he'd pass it in.
“He knows the game. Him and Milly have been great together but it's difficult to play, like I said, when you've only got Jebbo out, it's so difficult to bring yourself to start with two centre-forwards. Then you have no centre-forward on the bench, where do you go? So, yeah, it was good to have Jebbo back and available to me.”