Matthew Olosunde made his long-awaited Preston North End debut yesterday - but it may end up being a while before Lilywhites fans see him again.

The 23-year-old was a summer acquisition from Rotherham United but an achilles knock picked up in a pre-season clash with St. Johnstone immediately put him on the sidelines.

The American then suffered a further setback related to his hamstring in October which put his first competitive appearance on hold, but he finally showed some signs of being close to a debut after several reserve team outings in the last few weeks.

Due to injuries to both Tom Barkhuizen and Sepp van den Berg, Olosunde was finally handed his debut yesterday against North End's big rivals Blackburn Rovers and for the most part he coped well.

However late on in the match Olosunde seemed to pull up and he was replaced by Ryan Ledson for the final moments of the contest.

North End fans were hoping that it was just a bout of cramp after not playing for so long, however Frankie McAvoy confirmed post-match that the wing-back tweaked his groin and will be going for a scan to assess the damage.

That could be a blow as he's just worked his way back to fitness and it would mean that PNE have issues on the right side of the pitch with three players currently not fit enough to play.

The Verdict

Considering some 'tweaks' that PNE players have suffered this season have ended up being more long-term issues, Olosunde's groin issue could be a troublesome one.

He looked to be in some discomfort and for a player who rarely completed 90 minutes for Rotherham last season it was a surprise to see him still on the pitch so late in his North End debut.

There's been excitement to actually see him play a match but now there's a fear that it could be another little while before he's seen and with matches coming thick and fast in the next few months, McAvoy needs as many players fit as possible.