Preston North End have lost club captain Ben Whiteman to an ankle injury after he missed two games due to suspension.
The 28-year-old was ruled out of both games against Luton Town and Watford after picking up 10 yellow cards across the season, but Paul Heckingbottom has since revealed that the midfielder has now sustained a knock in training.
“A Nasty One”
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire after their surprise 2-1 win over Middlesbrough yesterday, former Sheffield United boss Heckingbottom confirmed the status of Whiteman. He said:
“Ben’s going to be a while. When he was training while we were away, he just rocked his ankle and it’s a bit of a nasty one.
“It’s a blow. We’d be daft not to look at trying to improve in that area but only if someone’s going to add to the squad.”
One potential target for the Deepdale side is Lewis O’Brien, who has struggled for minutes in Nottingham Forest’s side amidst their Premier League successes. According to Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, the 26-year-old is a loan target in this window and would pay half of his wage should a move to Lancashire come to fruition.
Heckingbottom opted to start Stefan Thordarsson and Alistair McCann against Boro, with the Icelandic international scoring in that game in his 60 minutes of game time.
Writer’s View
It is never ideal to lose your club captain for a period of time but judging on their recent performances, Preston North End are still faring extremely well without Ben Whiteman. After a strong appearance against Watford added to his vital goal against Middlesbrough, Stefan Thordarsson has stepped up and began to deliver. Heckingbottom eluding to a transfer move however may keep the Icelandic midfielder as a rotation option amid the links to Lewis O’Brien. He was a brilliant player for Huddersfield Town in their Championship seasons but in hindsight took a misstep to move to a newly-promoted Nottingham Forest. If they can tap into his form at The Terriers, he will be a brilliant asset to have in the middle of the park.
