Emil Riis injury latest: PNE return date pencilled in and Ryan Lowe comments on Dane's progress | OneFootball

Preston North End may be top of the Championship at this moment in time, but Ryan Lowe still has a few more players to welcome back to his squad from the treatment table.

The likes of Robbie Brady and Ben Whiteman have shrugged off their calf and hernia issues respectively to be available for selection once more, and one player who will be looking to do the same in the near future is striker Emil Riis.

The 25-year-old scored 21 times for North End in the 2021-22 season, but after just 22 appearances in 2022-23, his campaign was cruelly cut short.

What is Emil Riis' injury issue?

Against Stoke City in the Lilywhites' first match of 2023, Riis suffered a rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament, and that is what has left him on the sidelines all this time.

Typically an ACL injury that severe will leave a player on the sidelines for around nine months, which from the date of the striker's surgery would take him to around mid to late October for a comeback to the North End side.

Riis was back on the grass earlier in the summer doing some running and physical work but he is yet to return to full contact training with the rest of his team-mates.

What has Ryan Lowe said on Emil Riis' recovery?

Ahead of North End's match with Plymouth Argyle this weekend, Lilywhites boss Lowe has updated supporters as to where Riis is at with his recovery, and a return to full training looks to be within his sights.

“He’s fine - we just pulled him out a little bit and pulled him back a little bit because he’d built up a lot of strength in his legs and it was as if it was took quick for him," Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“He’s only seven and a half months (since his surgery) and them injuries are like nine months (recovery time) so we sort of dropped him back a little bit.

“In the international break we let him get away a bit to see his family, so we pulled him back a little bit knowing we’ve got Keano and Milutin and Liam who can fill that void as well.

“So, we’ve dropped him back, there’s nothing up with him, he’s fine, he’s still on the grass, he’s on the grass today again and the plan will be for him to join in training next week.

“But we held him back because there was no major rush - if we had no strikers we’d have kept pushing him and maybe we’d have had to cut him off the next international break, but that’s not the case, he’s fine and good in himself, and touchwood will join in training next week.”

When will Emil Riis return to action for Preston North End?

Lowe revealed on TalkSPORT on Wednesday that Riis, along with fellow injured striker Ched Evans, was around six weeks away from making a return to match action for the club.

That would put Riis' potential return around the end of October, giving him another two-week international break to build up his fitness in order to be back playing for North End next month.