Preston North End are blessed with a wealth of options in midfield right now, with several players all capable of filling in and doing a solid job in the centre of the pitch.
However, boss Ryan Lowe has today revealed that they will be without one of those names for the remainder of the campaign, with Ryan Ledson set to be sidelined until the summer. As reported by the club's official Twitter page, he has been struggling with a knee injury and they have decided to give the player surgery on it.
That should mean the midfielder is out of action until the next campaign - and whilst it will come as a blow to Ledson and to Lowe, it will at least ensure that he is back to full fitness and ready to go again next season.
The 24-year-old - who was the club's Player of the Season in 2020/21 - has featured a lot less this year due to the emergence of Ben Whiteman and the sheer amount of options in the centre of the field for North End to choose from.
With Alan Browne, Ryan Ledson, Ben Whiteman, Brad Potts, Daniel Johnson and Ali McCann all able to fill the two central midfield and attacking midfield roles, not to mention the currently out-on-loan Tom Bayliss and Josh Harrop and you can see why it would be a struggle for any player to get gametime.
The player though has still managed 24 league games this year so far, with three assists. However, it now appears that it will be the full extent of his contribution at Deepdale for this campaign at least.
The Verdict
On most teams, losing a player like Ryan Ledson to injury for the rest of the year would be a huge blow.
Considering that he was also the Lilywhite's Player of the Season in the last campaign and you would think there would be a lot of panic surrounding his injury. However, because of the wealth of options PNE have, it means there is a lot less stress surrounding the news.
That isn't a slight on Ledson and his performances by any means.
The player is well able to do a superb job in the centre of the field and is often called upon when needed in rotation or to change the way that PNE want to play. At the moment though, it looks like Alan Browne and Ben Whiteman have the first-team midfield slots locked down.
Ledson then will be able to rest, recuperate and go again next season. With several players likely to leave Deepdale this summer too, it could mean that there is more ample opportunity for him to be used next season to boot.