Ryan Lowe is hoping to have Will Keane and Andrew Hughes available for selection this weekend when Coventry City come to Deepdale.
Striker Keane went off injured in the previous match against Hull City last Saturday and there were concerns about him being sidelined again, having only just returned from injury, but he’s been training this week.
Hughes has been missing through injury since the end of September, and the left-sided defender could return this weekend.
Providing an update on other casualties, Ryan said: “Greg [Cunningham] is going to be missing for a few weeks. He’s got a bit of a hamstring strain but hopefully it’s not too long.
“Hughesy’s back on the grass today which is a big bonus for us.
“Calvin Ramsay has been back in the building with us all week so we’ll continue to build him up and strengthen him up to get more training sessions and [make him] more robust.
“Will Keane’s on the grass today. He’s fine from coming off the pitch against Hull which was probably more of a precaution.
“Jack Whatmough’s on the grass doing a little bit of rehab with the fitness team so we’re not far off. Ali [McCann] will be back after the international break, but we’re in a good spot with one or two coming back from injury. They’re getting there.”
In Calvin Ramsay’s case, the Liverpool loanee has had a frustrating few months, having picked up an issue in pre-season which has left him sidelined for the whole campaign so far.
The 20-year-old has been doing rehabilitation with his parent club in recent months, but is now back in training at Euxton.
Ryan said: “He’s fit and ready. He’s just miles off the pace at the moment as you can imagine.
“I think he trained a little while with Liverpool’s U21s and had some good training sessions, but we’ve now got to build him up to what we feel is being ready for Championship football.
“The fact of the matter is it’s tough when you’re playing Championship games, and what we’ve got to get Calvin ready for now is being robust enough for when he does get on the pitch to be able to handle it.
“It’s nice to have him back. He’s got a smile on his face. He’s training hard on a daily basis to get that fitness so hopefully he’s not too long.”
The manager has previously mentioned that next week’s Lancashire Senior Cup tie against Accrington Stanley could be an opportunity for the right back to get some minutes.
In the meantime, North End have two Championship matches before the international break – Saturday’s visit of Coventry City and then a Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers the following Friday.
“They’re all big games,” Ryan added. “I think the performance levels have warranted more points than we’ve got which is fine and we’ll continue to have them performances.
“The more points you can get on the board the better. We’ve got a small target of points which we’d like to get between now and the next international break, and hopefully we’ll stay in the top half of the division which will be the aim.
“If we keep doing what we’ve been doing in the past few weeks in terms of performance wise and work ethic, we’ll be fine.”