Pair primed for Preston return

James: Close to return

Darren Ferguson is hoping Joshua King and Matty James will be back in contention for Preston's next outing.

Both men picked up injuries in the Lilywhites' Championship clash with Burnley in September.

They are, however, making positive progress in their respective recoveries and could return to the fold for a trip to Derby next Saturday.

Ferguson is confident the pair will be ready to face the Rams and is relishing the selection dilemma their returns will pose.

He told the club's official website: "Josh King's back training with us. Matty James will be training with us next week so those two will be back for the Derby game. That is a bonus.

"It (King's injury) was a lesser injury, we are just thankful that Matty wasn't out as long as we first thought he may be.

"He is a big player for us, Matty, he has been exceptional this season.

"We have done well in the last week, I just want everyone fit, ready to go and to give me the problem of who to pick."

Good news

Norwegian frontman King is looking forward to getting back into the thick of things, as he admits that he initially feared that he would be sidelined for a prolonged period of time.

He said: "It is never good to be injured, so it is good to be back. I have only trained for two days but it is good to be back. I just want to get back, be fit and play games.

"I thought it was serious with my ankle but it wasn't as serious as we first thought so that was good news.

"Matty is a bit behind me because his injury was worse than mine, so I have been ahead of him all the time.

"I started running about a week before him. He is supposed to be running this week so hopefully we will get Matty back at the end of next week."