Ryan Lowe explains absence of Preston North End forward

Lowe instead opted for a front pairing of Cameron Archer and Ched Evans as PNE drew 0-0 with Huddersfield Town.

It wasn’t until the 68th minute that the 16-goal striker arrived on the scene, replacing Evans in the team.

This was the first time since August that Riis hadn’t made the starting side in the league for Preston. 

Lowe explained that he was resting the forward due to a minor injury that he is carrying. 

“Emil is carrying a little knock to be fair to him. He didn’t train on Tuesday and we have to protect him because he’s a goal scorer and a fantastic player,” said Lowe, via the Lancashire Post. 

“When we can mix it up with Ched, Cameron, Emil and Scotty, we have to do that to look after him.

“I think you can see that he has been carrying something over the last couple of games, we have addressed it.

“He will go and see someone on Monday. Emil can still train and play but we won’t flog him, we will look after him.

“Was it time for him to have a rest? It looked like he was fine when he came on the pitch.

“Physiologically that might have done him a little favour. We’ll assess him on Thursday and see how he is for the weekend.”

The draw keeps Preston in 12th place in the Championship table. It also extends his side’s unbeaten run to five games, where they have won twice and drawn three.

Preston thought they should have had an 83rd minute penalty when Riis went down in the box under a challenge from Tom Lees. 

However, the referee waved play on and the game remained 0-0. 

Up next for Preston is a trip to Peterborough United on February 12. 

Given the attacking numbers at their disposal, Lowe makes a reasonable argument that he needs to rest players instead of risking further injuries.

Riis has been a very important