Ben Whiteman injury update issued by Preston North End boss after West Brom loss
The skipper was substituted off on 13 minutes
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has provided an injury update on captain Ben Whiteman.
The midfielder was forced off in the 13th minute of PNE’s 2-0 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion after a collision with Isaac Price during a Baggies attack. Jordan Thompson came on in his place.
“He was feeling his hip,” Heckingbottom explained to BBC Radio Lancashire in his post-match press conference. “I think he was feeling it before the game, so we’ll see how it is now.”
On how the team adjusted to Whiteman’s exit, he said: “Jordan competed. It's not as simple as Ben went off and we lost... we were 1-0 down and we were 1-0 down by the same sort of thing. Playing into their pressure, coming back and Dan just clearing it.
“That's the disappointing thing. When we're giving them the solutions to that, there's no reason to be playing those passes. But listen, I want him fit, I want him to be fit for Wednesday. But that game, you'll never know, so it's pointless dwelling on it.”
While Heckingbottom couldn’t offer any sort of prognosis or time-frame on his skipper’s knock, he had some positive news elsewhere. Alfie Devine went down shortly after Whiteman’s injury but was fine to continue and finish the game.
“It’s not like a twisted ankle, it was just pure contact,” the PNE boss. ““So yeah, after five minutes you saw he was limping a bit and you’re worried, thinking you might have to change it. But, he seemed to get through it and it didn’t hinder him.”
PNE travel to Birmingham City on Wednesday and Heckingbottom said he may be able to ‘welcome a couple, if not one, back’. Robbie Brady, Ali McCann and Callum Lang were all absent against Albion but the PNE boss has said he expects all three to feature again this season. Jamal Lewis, however, has been ruled out for the rest of the season.