One injury boost and one blow for Preston North End ahead of Blackburn Rovers derby day

Preston North End defender Patrick Bauer is set for a spell on the sidelines - the Lilywhites are just waiting to learn how long for.

The German was handed his first start for 13 months on Tuesday night and impressed, for an hour, against Premier League outfit Fulham. But, Bauer had to be taken off in the second half, with his arm in a sling. He left the field in tears and North End boss Paul Heckingbottom feared it might be a nasty one for Bauer - who has visited the surgeon to learn the timescale of his injury.

“He is seeing the specialist, so we’re waiting to see the severity of it,” said Heckingbottom, on Friday afternoon. “He is going to be out, it’s just whether he will need surgery or not, basically. It’s around his elbow. We made a good block from a free-kick, it seemed to loop up, hit the bar, he has gone to win the header and just got caught while he was mid-air. He put his hand down to stop the fall and did some damage. I gave him a call on Wednesday.

“It is part and parcel of football, but he’ll get supported and work hard however long he is out for. He needs to keep himself as fit and ready as he possibly can, because I would’ve thought - with it being his arm - he will be able to do a lot of fitness work towards the back end, regardless of whether it’s surgery or not. The last thing will be him joining in the football, so it’s about keeping him in the best possible place - so that the gap isn’t too big when he jumps back for the first time.”

Andrew Hughes was able to soldier on, finish the game and convert in the penalty shootout. But, the Welshman is still recovering from the blow he took during the Cottagers clash. On a more positive note, striker Will Keane - who was expected to miss out with a hamstring issue - looks to be back in the fold for the Lilywhites. As will Brad Potts, who was absent from Tuesday’s squad due to his child being unwell.

“It was a kick,” said Heckingbottom. “He (Hughes) has not trained yet, but we’re hopeful he’ll be alright. It was contact and a bit of swelling, which has been restricted - a bit like a dead leg in and around his shin really. It can be sore, but I am expecting him to be alright. Will has trained today, so he’s back. I am pleased to see him out there.

“It was always sort of the plan, when he missed the last league game, to not rush and make sure we gave him that time to progress at his own speed. Any muscle injury, you miss one league game and we were really adamant we didn’t want that turning into four or five. So yeah, we’ve done the right thing by him and he’s just trained today.”