Danny Welbeck's loan spell with Preston is in danger of being curtained by a swollen knee injury and it's feared he may need surgery.
The Manchester United academy graduate has been on-loan at Deepdale since January and had scored two goals in eight games.
However, Welbeck has now missed their last three games and North End boss Darren Ferguson believes he may now need to go in for an operation on a torn cartilage, which would see him return early to United.
Ferguson said: "The way it is looking at the moment he will probably be going back there [Manchester United], he's going to have another scan on Monday but it's not looking good. 'On Wednesday night I got a phone call from the physio. I didn't really want to answer it and I could tell by the tone of the physio's voice that it wasn't good news.
'We wish the lad all the best because we don't want this to turn out to be a serious injury. If the scan on Monday shows no operation is needed, there is the possibility that Danny might come back, but I'm not overly optimistic. "
It is a blow for the lad as well because he was really enjoying it here, he was at the game on Tuesday (against Doncaster Rovers) and the lads were pleased to see him.
"He was looking bubbly and raring to come back but unfortunately there has been a reaction to it so he won't be available on Saturday."