Preston North End captain Alan Browne hopes hip injury has been helped by surgery

Preston North End skipper Alan Browne hopes surgery on a troublesome hip can ease an issue which has dogged him for a couple of years and caused sleepless nights.
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The 26-year-old has not had a full pre-season having been eased back on the training pitch after work on his left hip joint.

He played an hour against Wigan Athletic on Friday having had shorter run-outs at Accrington Stanley and Manchester City.

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Browne was PNE’s best player in the 3-2 defeat at the DW Stadium and could well be pushing for a start when Hull City visit Deepdale to kick-off the Championship campaign on Saturday.

Alan Browne during Friday night’s game at the DW StadiumAlan Browne during Friday night’s game at the DW Stadium
Alan Browne during Friday night’s game at the DW Stadium

Discussing his recovery, Browne told the Lancashire Post: “It’s all right, it feels good and I’ve not had many problems. I still have to keep on top of it, work hard before and after games to make sure it is right.

“It is a bit of a mess in there, it is not great but I will try to get as much as I can out of it.

“There are a few tears in there, damage to the cartilage, it’s not great.

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“I’ve had a little procedure done to hopefully get me through a few seasons. It’s my left leg.

“It’s something I’ve felt for the last two or three years, not so much in games but at night when I couldn’t really sleep because of the pain.

“I’ve sort of got it sorted now, not fully sorted, but the procedure will ease the pain.

“Fingers crossed, we will see how it goes.”

Browne has made 291 appearances for PNE and is about to start his ninth season at Deepdale.

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He enjoyed his hour’s run at Wigan in terms of giving him more match fitness but the result was disappointing for the Republic of Ireland international. Said Browne: “I thought it was a good exercise for us.

“Wigan are a really good team who I think will do well in League One.

“I thought we could have done better with all three of their goals and we might have had a hand from the referee for the second one.

“It was a good run-out, just a poor result. We dominated much of the first half and the opening goal was their first chance of the game.

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“When it comes to crunch time in the league, that is what we need to work on and cut out. We did a lot of things right in the game.

“If we are going to make mistakes, it is in the friendly games when it is best to make them rather than in the league.

“It was great to see such a quality finish from young Joe Rodwell-Grant for our second goal late in the game.

“He’s an honest kid who is a really hard worker, Joe has come in at Wigan and taken his chance.”