Jamal Lewis injury latest as Preston North End contract call looms over former Newcastle United man
PNE snapped up the former Norwich City defender in October
Jamal Lewis could be back fit just in the nick of time at Preston North End.
The Lilywhites signed the left-back on a free transfer at the end of October and he went on to earn a recall to the Northern Ireland squad. Lewis turned out six times for PNE but in the last of those appearances - at Sheffield Wednesday on November 29 - he pulled up with a hamstring issue 17 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
The defender signed a short-term deal until December 30th. Not long before the trip to Hillsborough, manager Paul Heckingbottom had suggested he’d like to sign Lewis on a longer deal - and that the full-back had been open to a one-year contract initially.
With fellow left wing-back Andrija Vukcevic now back available, and Robbie Brady expected back after the turn of the year, it raises the question as to how Lewis’ recovery is going - and where he stands.
“Yeah, he was out on the grass yesterday doing a bit, so I think he'll be maybe a maximum of two weeks,” assistant boss Stuart McCall told the Lancashire Post after Saturday’s win at Oxford United. “He's a good to have around the place as well, a good pro, and we'll just have to see on that one.”
Welcomed boosts for PNE
On the rest of the squad, McCall said: “We've got a bounce game on Wednesday for the lads who have not been playing. The likes of Pottsy, Andy and hopefully, Ali McCann. All those boys get game time and get minutes, then we build up to Norwich - who’ve had a really good win, beating Southampton.
“They've sort of turned the corner a little bit with the new manager. It'll be another tough one. But hopefully, Deepdale will be bouncing and we can keep striving forward. We've got Pottsy on the bench, Andy back in, JT getting some more minutes, Linds will obviously be back available.
“So yes, the squad, thankfully it’s looking a lot stronger now and that pushes people for positions and places. It makes it so that we can make substitutions on the hour mark and freshen it up, and not really deplete the starting XI.”