Preston North End squad's heart-warming gesture to Ali McCann when he returned to training
Ali McCann has been out of action since August with a hamstring injury.
Graham Alexander has revealed the Preston North End squad gave Ali McCann a rousing reception when he returned to the training pitch last week.
It’s been a devastating start to life as Preston captain for McCann, who suffered a serious hamstring injury in just his fourth appearance with the armband in the 4-0 defeat to Everton in the Carabao Cup.
The midfielder had actually come on off the bench in the game, but lasted just 25 minutes before he had to go off with an injury that required surgery to fix.
McCann was set for ‘months’ on the side lines and still remains a way away from making his return to action, but he did step up his recovery last week when he got back out on the grass on Friday.
Alexander shared the heart-warming gesture McCann received from his teammates as he took to the field.
“It's great to see him out on the training ground,” Alexander told The Post ahead of Saturday’s match at Stoke City.
“All the players gave him a round of applause when he was out there for day one.
“He's obviously an influential player around the place and with his teammates.”
The nice touch came in the same week that Alexander made sure to celebrate teenager Ed Nolan’s senior debut by having the whole squad and staff take a photo with him at Euxton.
How far is Ali McCann from a return to action?
McCann is making good progress in his recovery and is ‘on track’ with where he should be, but Alexander says he remains a distance from being available for selection.
“He's still over a month away,” Alexander added.
“I think he's just got to build up his running, the percentage of his match speed and he's still quite a bit away from where he needs to get to but all his progress has been on track.
“I was speaking to him last week, he felt great that he was being able to run. Players take it for granted until they get injured and then the basic stuff of being out on the grass and being able to run is a positive step.
“But it's still a bit of a journey for him to go.”
With McCann and fellow midfielder Liam Gibbs both out for significant periods, Preston are considering bolstering their midfield ranks with the free agent signing of Greg Docherty.
The 30-year-old has been training with the club this week with a view to a move after leaving Charlton Athletic on transfer deadline day by mutual consent.