'Got to, honestly' - Ryan Lowe fires warning over in-form Preston North End man

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe says the club need to be very careful with striker Emil Riis' workload.

The Lilywhites welcomed the Dane back to action in late December, after almost a full year on the sidelines with a knee injury. Riis now has two goals in his last two games and has formed a strike partnership with Will Keane, which continues to blossom.

But, with the number 19 having made a succession of starts, Lowe is extremely wary of his 2021/22 top scorer potentially breaking down. PNE's boss hopes to get Riis through Saturday's derby against Blackburn Rovers, before looking at possibly easing his minutes.

After Wednesday's win over Boro, Lowe said: "What an occasion for him to score - at home, after all that time out. But, I am just going to tell you now, we need to be careful with him. Because, he has been out for 12 months. We will get him through Saturday and then we might have to start looking at how we just slow him down a little bit.

"He's got to. Honestly, I think he's had more massages in the last two weeks than he's ever had. In those ice baths, hot and cold contrast bathing and everything he has to do... recovery, he has been different class along with the rest of the boys. But, there are one or two we're going to have to manage in there, definitely."