Huddersfield Town manager Danny Cowley has revealed that the injury suffered by defender Tommy Elphick in his side's 3-1 defeat at Preston North End on Saturday afternoon 'doesn't look good'.

Elphick was forced off just 20 minutes into the loss at Deepdale, following a high challenge from North End midfielder Ryan Ledson - which saw the Preston man booked -with Jon Goren Stankovic coming on place of Elphick.

Jayden Stockley's header already had Preston 1-0 up by that point, with Alan Browne's first of the season and penalty from Paul Gallagher meant the hosts were already out of sight by the time Juninho Bacuna pulled one back for the Terriers.

Speaking after the game in his post-match press conference which Football League World attended, Cowley was asked about the situation with regards to Elphick, with the Huddersfield manager offering a less than positive opinion, revealing that it looks as though the 32-year-old has suffered "structural damage to his knee".

Having joined on a free transfer during the summer transfer window following his release from newly-promoted Aston Villa, Elphick has so far made 14 league appearances this season for Huddersfield, who now sit 19th in the Championship standings, after their seven-game unbeaten run come to an end at Deepdale on Saturday.

The Verdict

This will be a concern for Huddersfield.

Despite the fact that he has made errors on more than one occasion this season, Elphick has largely been a mainstay of the Terriers' starting lineup, which does suggest Cowley still sees him of one of his side's better options in that position.

As a result, he is not someone the Terriers would have wanted to lose for too long, with the club now challenged with bouncing back from that defeat on Saturday.

That being said, Stankovic did seem to do a reasonable job when he came on to replace Elphick at Deepdale, meaning he could be a fairly reliable option in the 32-year-old's absence.