Preston striker Louis Moult has 'light at the end of the tunnel' in his recovery from a serious knee injury

It is more than 15 months since Moult ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee and suffered other damage in the joint.

The 28-year-old’s recovery from the surgery to repair the damage has been a tough one.

He had a second operation in the summer, a minor procedure compared to the first, to clean the knee out.

‘King Louis’ as North End fans have dubbed him, was injured playing against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium in August 2019.

Updating Moult’s recovery, North End manager Alex Neil said: “Louis is making progress but he’s had a few hurdles put in the way of his progress.

“They had to go back in a few months ago to tidy it up and he’s had a few injections in there to help the healing of the tendons.

“It’s not been all plain sailing for Louis but he’s worked extremely hard to get to the position he is in. He is now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.”

In line with a lot of serious injuries of its type, Moult was hurt in the most innocuous manner.

He chased a long ball into the box and as he stretched his right leg out to try and reach it, his left leg buckled under him.

Having allowed the initial swelling in the knee to go down, Moult had surgery a few weeks later.

Rehabilitation from a knee injury can take time as Moult has found out.

Neil had previously said that it wasn’t just the cruciate ligament which needed repairing, with other work done in the knee.

The PNE boss has praised Moult for the hard work and long hours put in at the gym and with the club’s medical staff.

Neil said: “He has stuck to it, to try and get himself back.

“We are hoping for his sake and for our sake that it won’t be too long before he is back out on the grass.”

In addition to doing his rehab, Moult has been busy doing some charity work, promoting the excellent work of the Foxton Centre in Preston.

He was involved in the Big Sleep Out project in November last year.

That raised £100,000 which has enabled the Foxton Centre to buy a house and covert it into two flats to be used by the homeless to break the cycle of living on the streets.

At the end of last season Moult was won the PFA Community player of the year award at PNE.

Moult joined North End from Motherwell for £450,000 in January 2018.

The 28-year-old has scored eight goals for PNE.

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