Preston North End midfielder Josh Harrop has admitted that his return to scoring form has given the confidence needed to push on this season.

The 23-year-old made his long-awaited return to action for the Lilywhites in their clash with Bradford City last month after missing most of the previous campaign after having surgery to repair a damaged cruciate ligament (via the Lancashire Post).

During this match-up, Harrop managed to open his account for the 2019/20 campaign for Preston.

The midfielder has since taken his goal-tally to three for the year after scoring in the club's recent victories over Stoke City and Hull City.

Speaking to the Lancashire Post about his season so far, Harrop said: "The goals have given me that extra bit of confidence.

"If you are playing well as an attacking player, the goals tend to come.

"I got a bit of luck with my first goal back at Bradford - my shot got a deflection and it looped in.

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"That shot was my second or third touch after coming off the bench.

"Having been out with the injury for a lot of last season, maybe I was due some luck."

Whilst Preston are not in action this weekend due to the international break, Harrop has been training alongside his team-mates.

The Lilywhites, who are currently seventh in the second-tier standings, could close the gap between them and the top-two with a victory over Brentford on September 14th at Deepdale.

The Verdict

When you consider that Harrop is one goal away from doubling his overall total for Preston, the midfielder may be about to experience somewhat of a breakthrough campaign in the Championship providing that he avoids injury.

Although it is fair to say that he has yet to reach the heights that were expected of him when he joined the Lilywhites from Manchester United in 2017, there is no reason why he cannot help his side achieve a relative amount of success this season.