Calvin Ramsay has returned to full training with Preston following a two-and-a-half-month injury layoff, with his first game back now revealed.
It is safe to say that, since swapping Aberdeen for Liverpool in 2022, things have not gone as hoped for Ramsay.
Long-term back and knee injuries hampered his first season on Merseyside, while a series of setbacks so far this time out have denied him a debut at Preston.
But the 20-year-old has now rejoined full training with his loan club, having worked on his recovery back at the AXA Training Centre, and is due to feature next week.
Ramsay’s debut is slated for the Lancashire Senior Cup semi-final against Accrington Stanley on November 7 – an inauspicious start, but one manager Ryan Lowe hopes will help “get him up to speed.”
Glad to be back @pnefc ? pic.twitter.com/AHdAmWYGWC
— Calvin Ramsay (@CalvinRamsay) November 2, 2023
“I’m pleased for Calvin really,” Lowe told the Lancashire Post on Thursday.
“It has been a tough time for him hasn’t it? He came to us in pre-season, on loan, and he wasn’t quite right. He then had to go back and reset his programme for his knee.
“He’s got a big smile on his face and he loves being here. We want him getting competitive football for as long as he’s here.
“He’s a good player. We’ve got to get him up to speed, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to have him around and if you ask him I’m sure he’d say the same thing.”
It remains to be seen how Ramsay will figure for Preston for the remainder of the campaign, with Brad Potts cemented as first-choice right-back and Duane Holmes impressing further forward.
But Lowe sees the Liverpool loanee as a “different option” that can provide competition going forward.
“He’s a little bit off the pace, I must say, until we get him up to speed,” the manager admitted.
“But, once we get him up to speed he’s a very good player. Of course he will [be a threat].
“He will be coached into what we want, but you don’t play for Liverpool or get bought by Liverpool if you’re not any good in that department.
“You only have to look at the way Liverpool’s full-backs play, so if he can do anywhere near that – like Trent does – then he will be good for us, of course.”
Preston are currently ninth in the Championship, having gone top of the table in mid-September, with there a chance Ramsay makes the bench on Saturday vs. Coventry.
