Preston midfielder Ryan Ledson won’t play again this season after Ryan Lowe confirmed knee surgery for the North End ace.
Ledson notably hasn’t been in the Preston match day squad for the last two games, missing out against Bournemouth and Cardiff City.
Ledson did come against Coventry City, but that’s the last we will see of him this season.
Preston boss Lowe has today admitted that Ledson is being sent for surgery over a persistent knee problem.
Lowe claims Ledson has been struggling in training at times and has been needing some time off to recover, clearly not 100% and playing through the pain barrier.
Lowe did praise Ledson as ‘fantastic’, but urged him to get surgery now rather than keep playing in the coming weeks and risk making the injury worse.
Preston have therefore shut Ledson down for the season in the hope that he will be fit and firing for the start of pre-season training this summer.
This of course means that Ledson will miss the two big home games between now and the summer; Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers.
A committed and passionate performer, Ledson’s bite and drive could have been useful in such important games against bitter rivals.
Lowe has now told Lancs Live that it would have been ‘unfair’ to push Ledson through games against Blackpool and Blackburn even if he would have been perfect for those games.
Lowe clearly feels Ledson is a big miss, with Ali McCann the main competition now for Ben Whiteman and Alan Browne.
If there are other injuries in midfield, we could see Lewis Leigh earn a step up to the first team unless Brad Potts is deployed in a central role.