'It was devastating' - Liverpool man Calvin Ramsay opens up on Preston North End injury blow

Preston North End loan man Calvin Ramsay says it was 'devastating' to suffer another knee injury - but is now fully focused on making his debut for the Lilywhites.

Signed on loan from Liverpool in early June, the capture of Ramsay was Preston's first piece of business in the summer transfer window - and an important one on paper too, given the competition needed down the right flank. But, after a couple of pre-season outings, Ramsay was ruled out for more than two months with a second knee injury of the year.

He returned to the Reds for rehabilitation, but was back with PNE at the start of last week and got 45 minutes under his belt in Tuesday's Lancashire Senior Cup defeat to Accrington Stanley. Ramsay has reflected on the blow he suffered with in-house media, but explained how his road to recovery was relatively problem-free.

"It was devastating," he said. "The first thing I did was phone my dad and say: 'I think I've done it again'. I was just gutted, he was gutted and my whole family really. But, now I'm back, it has flown by. I've worked hard, every day in the gym, trying to do as much as I can and yeah, I just really need to be playing football now, get my head down, work hard and I'm sure I'll get good game time. There were no bumps along the way really.

"Normally there are ups and downs, but mine was pretty smooth. There were only a couple of days where it swelled up again but, apart from that, all good. Obviously, it’s been a tough year for me with a couple of knee injuries. But this time - when I went back to Liverpool for my rehab - I made sure I worked harder than ever because I wanted to come back and get a good run in the team hopefully, and try and show what I can do.

"I just can’t wait to get started and hopefully play some first team games. My aim is obviously to get in the squad for Blackburn and get minutes. But if I don’t, it’s a good chance for me to get a few training sessions in over the break, get my fitness up again and after the break it’s go-time.

"They've been brilliant haven't they? It was a good start. The past few weeks have been tough, but we're still in a good position, in the top six. So, they've done well and we just need to keep going. It's a long season and a difficult league, but I'm sure we'll be right in there if we keep going and try to pick up as many points as we can."