Preston were hoping to get Izzy Brown back on track after signing him over the summer, only for him to suffer another injury setback.
Brown was finally released by Chelsea at the end of last season having failed to break through at Stamford Bridge.
Once considered a wonderkid, Brown went on a series of loan spells but just couldn’t feature for Chelsea.
Available for nothing, Preston took a chance on Brown.
North End gave the playmaker a one-year deal with the option of a second year, handing him low wages in a move with minimal risk.
Unfortunately, Brown suffered a torn achilles after just one appearance for North End in pre-season.
That means Brown is likely to miss most of the season, and Preston may choose not to activate that second year in his contract.
It’s a sad situation for Brown, as many Preston fans seemed genuinely excited to see him in action.
Having once thrived at Huddersfield Town, North End supporters felt he could get back to his best by settling at Preston. If he didn’t, the Lilywhites hadn’t given up a lot.
We will have to see whether Brown gets back to fitness, but he took to Twitter on Wednesday night to post an emotional message.
Accompanied with a photo of himself playing for Preston against Celtic, Brown simply tweeted ‘I miss you’ with a broken heart emoji.
It’s clear that Brown is missing being out on the pitch, and we can only hope that a brighter 2022 is on the horizon for him.