Preston North End could have to do without the services of attacking midfielder Daniel Johnson when they travel to The Hawthorns to face league leaders West Brom on Tuesday night, manager Alex Neil has revealed.
Johnson was absent from North End's matchday squad as they came from behind to beat Hull 2-1 at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon, and it appears the 27-year-old will again be unavailable for the Lancashire side in midweek, with an issue that appears to have emerged in training.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to West Brom about Johnson's fitness situation, Neil was quoted by Preston's official Twitter account as saying: “I’m not sure DJ is going to make this one, his knee flared up at the end of a training session."
It does however seem as though this is unlikely to be a long-term issue, with Neil adding: "We’ve had it scanned and it’s inflamed a little bit but we don’t think it will be a long term thing.â€
Johnson has been a key figure for Preston this season, with no player matching the ten goals and five assists he has provided for the Lilywhites so far this season.
Following that win over Hull at the weekend, Preston go into the clash in the Midlands sixth in the Championship table, six points behind second-placed Leeds, and three clear of seventh-placed Bristol City.
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The Verdict
This will surely be disappointing for Preston.
Johnson has played a big role in getting them to where they are this season, so they would surely have wanted an important player such as him available for a test as challenging as this one.
However, with plenty more games to come, it makes little sense for North End to risk making the injury worse here, which would potentially see him ruled out for even longer, leaving them without one of their key players for even longer.
Indeed, Preston have managed to keep themselves in the battle for the top six despite being without a number of important players already this season, so they should still be confident about causing the Baggies problems on Tuesday night, even without their top scorer.