Preston North End check on Patrick Bauer’s fitness with Liam Lindsay suspended

Ryan Lowe will hope to bring Patrick Bauer back into heart of Preston North End’s back three to cover the loss of Liam Lindsay to suspension.
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Lindsay’s red card in the 1-1 draw with Coventry will see him sit out Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth to Deepdale.

As the sending-off was for two yellow cards, there is no right of appeal and PNE have to take it on the chin.

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Bauer was missing against Coventry having taken a knock on his left hip during last week’s game against Nottingham Forest.

Liam Lindsay is sent off by referee Keith Stroud at Coventry on SaturdayLiam Lindsay is sent off by referee Keith Stroud at Coventry on Saturday
Liam Lindsay is sent off by referee Keith Stroud at Coventry on Saturday

So it will be all eyes on the treatment room as North End boss Lowe looks to have him back involved.

Lowe said: “We will have to see how Patrick is, he just couldn’t make it for Coventry.

“If the game had been on Tuesday night he would have had a better chance. We’ve got options, Bambo Diaby came on at Coventry for his first appearance.”

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The timing of the red card wasn’t the best for Lindsay, with him recently having forced his way into Lowe’s back three.

He started last month’s game at Millwall and was a first-half substitute against Reading.

Lindsay started the Forest game on the left-hand side of the back three, with Bauer in the middle and Sepp van den Berg on the right.

When Bauer limped off, Lindsay became the centre of the trio with Andrew Hughes moving from wing-back into the defence.

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Lowe felt the Scot’s red card was a harsh, with him not convinced the second booking should have happened.

Lindsay had been booked early on, as had Josh Earl, for a block on Martyn Waghorn.

His second caution was for a coming together with Viktor Gyokeres. The Coventry striker’s fall took him against the advertising boards. Said Lowe: “I was right by it on the touchline.

“It probably looked a bit more dramatic but there wasn’t much in it at all.”

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If Bauer comes back for the Bournemouth game, an 11-day break between matches won’t have done him any harm.

He has played a lot of football this campaign after missing the second half of last season with a torn Achilles tendon.

As Lowe referenced, he got Diaby on the pitch at Coventry for his first few minutes of league action for more than two years.

The defender’s only action since his two-year suspension for taking a banned substance was a 70-minute run in the reserves a fortnight ago.

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Diaby is set to get another run-out in the reserves when PNE face Fleetwood Town in the Central League at Euxton today (2pm).

Josh Murphy will also play as he picks up his fitness after a four-month absence.