Preston North End injury update: Striker to see a specialist over damaged hamstring but better news for defender

The 28-year-old pulled up just five minutes into his full PNE debut against Cheltenham Town at Deepdale on Tuesday night.

He's suffered damage to to the upper part of his right hamstring and will now see a specialist about it.

It looks like being a lengthy lay-off which is a huge blow for Wickham who signed a four-month contract early last week.

The former Sunderland and Crystal Palace man had spent a month training with North End to earn a deal.

There was better news concerning Liam Lindsay who also came off in the first half against Cheltenham.

A scan has shown his knee injury to be a slight strain on the medial ligament rather than more serious damage.

Speaking at Euxton on Thursday morning, PNE head coach Frankie McAvoy said: "Connor has picked up a hamstring injury and now needs to see a specialist.

"At the moment it is not looking too good if I'm being brutally honest.

"My thoughts are with Connor because he had worked so hard to get to where he was. It's a tough one for him.

"We'll have to see what the diagnosis is when he sees the specialist. Hopefully it is not too serious and he can get back to where he was."

As far as centre-half Lindsay is concerned, McAvoy said: "Liam's not as bad as we first feared.

"He was on a bit of pain after the game and we were worried.

"It looks like a nick on the medial ligament which isn't too bad."

McAvoy reported that Tom Barkhuizen and Scott Sinclair were both set to resume training with the squad today (Thursday) after illness.

Ched Evans is making progress in his recovery from a calf strain but Saturday's visit to Birmingham was probably too soon for him.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here