Preston North End’s Patrick Bauer faces fitness race

The German got a bang on the left hip during the first half and soldiered on until the interval.

He made it back out for the second half but lasted just eight minutes before being substituted.

If it’s just a deadleg, Bauer could well recover in time for Saturday’s clash at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Anything a bit more serious though, and he would be struggling.

PNE boss Ryan Lowe told the Lancashire Post: “Pat banged his hip.

“I said at half-time have you got 90 minutes in you? He was saying ‘yes, yes’.

“Pat didn’t want to come off the pitch but we felt he wasn’t right.

“The last thing we needed was Brennan Johnson or Keinan Davis running at him and he couldn’t run.”

Lowe had started with Bauer in the middle of the back three, flanked by Sepp van den Berg and Liam Lindsay.

Lindsay’s inclusion meant Andrew Hughes moved wide to left wing-back, a job he did impressively.

The injury to Bauer saw a reshuffle at the back, Lindsay shifting into the central role with Hughes returning to the back three.

The display from Lindsay, both before and after Bauer went off, was impressive.

Said Lowe: “Liam put in a top performance. His attitude and application has been excellent. He knows Pat Bauer has been very good so he’s been in and out.

“Liam is so calm on the ball, he can head it, he can kick it, he is a proper warrior.

“He is a credit to himself and this football club with how he has applied himself.

“I’d like nothing better than Liam to stay in the team and keep performing, keep getting clean sheets.

“That is two starts for him recently and two clean sheets.”

At the other end of the pitch, Lowe reported that striker Emil Riis’ fitness was improving.

North End are managing Riis through an injury at the moment, the Dane coming off the bench against Forest.

He had started the two games before that, with him a sub for the Huddersfield match a fortnight ago.

Lowe has been rotating the 16-goal striker with Ched Evans as a partner for Cameron Archer.

“Emil has been struggling with a knock of late,” said Lowe.

“We are managing him through it, he’s started to look a bit better and sharper, he’s not limping as much. We’ll get him right.”