Preston North End want Republic of Ireland to monitor the fitness of midfielder Alan Browne

Browne scored his first goal of the season in PNE's 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town at Deepdale.

He played the full game but a couple of times seemed to be holding his hamstring.

Neil said: "Alan is fine, it's just that his hamstring has been a bit tight.

"I will probably give big Mick a call and hope that Ireland take care of him while he is away. I'm sure they will."

The Republic play New Zealand on Thursday in a friendly, that a warm-up for next Monday's crucial Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark in Dublin.

Browne has steadily been establishing himself in the Ireland squad this season and he started last month's 2-0 defeat to Switzerland. He's now won seven senior international caps.

He is joined in the Ireland squad by PNE team-mate Sean Maguire.

Neil was pleased to see Browne open his scoring account for the campaign.

While he has hit double figures for the last two seasons, the 24-year-old saw the goals dry up until Saturday.

However, Neil says there is mitigation in the fact Browne has not always played in the attacking midfield role.

Neil said: "Alan does what he does, he hits the box well in that 'running 10' position.

"This season we haven't played him up there many times because of Daniel Johnson's performances and how well he has done.

"If DJ is the No.10, generally we play with a running nine rather than a big targetman.

"When Alan plays it suits us to play a targetman, with him and Jayden Stockley complementing each other really well."