Preston North End to assess injuries suffered by Ben Pearson and Brandon Barker in defeat at Reading

Preston midfielder Ben Pearson struggled with an injury against Reading

Pearson felt his hamstring tighten a few times during the game and came off for the last few minutes, leaving North End down to 10 men after they had used all three substitutes.

One of the substitutes was Barker who came on at half-time but he pulled up just 11 minutes into the second half and had to be replaced by Louis Moult.

North End manager Alex Neil said: "Naturally because Brandon is a high impact player, as soon as he put his hand up I knew that was him, he has pulled his hamstring in some way, shape or form - the extent of which we will find out in the next few days.

Preston manager Alex Neil on the touchline at Reading's Madejski Stadium

"I don't think Pearo's is as bad, it was more tightening up more than anything else.

"That is why he continued to play on but then a 60-70 yard run he made down the channel didn't really help him.

"We finished the game off with 10 men for the last few minutes.

"We aren't going to feel sorry for ourselves, at the end of the day that is the circumstances we are dealt.

"We are very hopeful of having a couple of lads back who have been missing back for the next game which will help us."